Behind Locked Doors
by MelloKai
Summary: After Sai cheats on her, Sakura accidentally kills Ino, her twin. She is placed in a mental instituation where she meets Gaara, among others. Gaara becomes her tormentor, determined to break her; she doesn't give in so easily, though. GaaSaku; SasuNaru; Others REWRITES UNDERWAY! Chapters 1, 7, 8, 9, and 10 edited. Read and Review!
1. Under Lock and Key

GAARA GLARED AT the ceiling of the small room, imagining that his hand was floating along in the air as he traced the seams where pieces of metal fit together. His mind was blank; the only thing even resembling a thought was the strong feeling of hate that swelled within his gut and an odd dislocation from the world that seemed to cast a haze over his vision. Everything felt far from reach and out of touch. He was trapped in this little metal room, this little metal cage that he nearly couldn't bear to be cooped up in for so long.

The more he lay there, bound to his bed with thick leather restrains, the more he stewed beneath the surface. On the surface his features were slack; he was unable to even move in his heavily drugged state. The line of his mouth was curved down, eternally frowning, would only tighten into a scowl as the medicine began to wear off. His heart thundered a crescendo of war against his rib-cage as anger coursed through him, flushing his skin to a sickly pale tone. His body was paralyzed, but his mind roamed freely and his eyes darted to and fro as they consumed his environment.

Every so often as the medicine was wearing off he would jerk his arms and legs against the cruel restraints, testing to see if they'd perhaps forgotten to tie him down tight enough, just this one time. They only had forgotten once; when he was a child. They'd not forgotten to tie him up properly since. Not after that time...

Gaara forced his drugged features into a scowl, dragging out a long sigh as he did so. That in itself was a remarkable feat, considering the amount of drugs they'd pumped into his system. They'd been forced to give him just under the limit that could cause an overdose. He'd been having a bad day. He'd managed to cause multiple other people considerable pain as well, though, so the day had ended on a better note. Hurting others and hearing them scream lessened the howl of his own mind. It eased his own pain, clearing his mind a bit so he could think more freely.

Time seemed to drag on more and more slowly each day, the only break in the monotony when he could get a rise out of someone. The cool rush of adrenalin at his actions always brought him a sense of sadistic calm. Being in control brought him satisfaction like nothing else could. Feeling in control in a place like this was something hard to come by. He treasured it.

At the sound of the door creaking open, Gaara slowly turned his head to the right. A nurse had come to bring him his lunch. Gaara glared at her, the effort of his actions growing easier. The nurse, catching his small motion, was so startled that she almost the tray of food. This one surprised him, brushing her red hair out of her face with grim determination only to let loose a shaky tremble when he smirked at her, sensing the fear that radiated from her in waves.

She quickly undid his ankle cuffs, the hard leather making a slight scraping sound as she slipped the metal clips loose. Gaara closed his eyes as she undid the right manacle, relishing the feel of cool air on his cramped wrist. The manacles had been tight today, too tight. His fingers tingled as blood rushed back into his fingers and he wiggled them suggestively against the mattress.

The frightened nurse hurried to undo the other cuff, turning on heel to leave as soon as she completed her task. Gaara's long-fingered hand latched lazily around her wrist, squeezing it tightly beneath his grip. "Don't you want to play?"

A shriek escaped her lips as she tried to wrench herself free from the red-haired lunatic's bone-crushing grasp. "No! Let me go!" she snarled, slapping his across the face with her free hand. Gaara calmly gazed at her, blinking slowly. Her actions didn't entice him so much as enrage him. His grip tightened until he heard a satisfying crunch and coinciding yelp of pain. The yelp was closely followed by a panicked scream for help.

A head topped with dark brown hair popped through the doorway, the face it belonged to pulling together into a vicious scowl. "Damn it Gaara; I leave to eat dinner for _ten _minutes, and this is what you get into?"

"Get out!" Gaara spat at the nurse, knowing she wouldn't need to be told twice. She brushed past the man in the doorway, cradling her fractured wrist to her chest with a pained and terrified expression. The man in the doorway repressed a chuckle as he entered the room.

"You're a pain in the ass to be around when you're in that fucking shell, you know," grunted Gaara's brother. "It's like I'm talin' to myself..."

"Shut up," growled Gaara. He'd rather have his brother around to complain and whatnot than listen to his own breathing, but he wasn't about to admit to that. To reinforce the fact that he didn't like his brother talking, he'd often chuck things at him, though over the years Kankuro had become an expert at dodging Gaara's projectiles.

Normally, it would've seemed unethical to room two brothers in such a situation in the same room, but the fact of the matter was that Gaara utterly refused to let anyone move in with them. The last time it had been attempted, the poor bastard who'd been put into his room was found hog-tied with a bed sheet in the linens closet on the second-floor.

Kankuro sighed, flopping back onto his bed which was bolted to the wall opposite of Gaara's metal headboard, squished between the wall and tiny dresser. "You really can't help yourself can you?" he snickered, lacing his hands behind his head. It seemed Gaara always had the upper hand on people, something he found hilarious. Gaara liked to play mind games, only resorting to physical pain when he'd already gotten into their head or couldn't get past their barriers. Kankuro had blocked out Gaara's digs a long time ago, but his little brother found ways to get to him nonetheless.

Kankuro heard the distinct swish of Gaara's arm, lazily holding his arm up to catch whatever it was. He'd expected a pillow, as usual, but this time was different. Gaara had flung _himself_ across the room, which Kankuro had not expected. Kankuro's dark eyes widened the thick lashes fanning out as his pupils dilated. He absolutely hated fighting his brother because there was simply no reasoning with him. Gaara fought to win, at least until he got too tired to move—and that could take a while.

Gaara's fist missed his face, slamming into the metal bars of his headboard. Kankuro grunted as he tried to throw his brother off. First curling in a ball, he yanked it back and socked Gaara in the face, the force of it causing his head to jerk back and his red hair to lift away from his features.

Gaara's icy blue eyes narrowed, sending Kankuro's smirk of triumph scampering away. Gaara easily straddled him, pinning his brother's hands beneath his knees as his fists flurried down in a silent battery upon well-defined upper torso.

"Gaara get off me, you stupid little shit! Get the _fuck_ off!" grunted Kankuro, freeing his arms before twisting his body and flinging Gaara across the room.

The emaciated boy lurched to his feet, his lower lip swollen and bleeding. Kankuro could feel his stomach knotting with fear as he examined the look in his brother's eyes. There was that certain glaze coating them that told Kankuro he'd better get the hell out of there. Then again, though, there door was locked, wasn't it? Their door, as one of the doors containing high-risk patients, was set to be locked after a certain time, signaling that it was curfew. Gaara had, after all, killed other patients before, so he wasn't allowed out. He didn't kill them on the spot, but he hurt them badly enough that they died later.

Gaara made a dive for Kankuro when he got up, wrapping his hands around his throat. He smacked Kankuro's head against the frame a few times, pushing him close to the brink of passing out before he let go. Kankuro was gasping for breath when Gaara stomped on his chest. A pained expression crossed his features as he grunted. He quickly smoothed them out, knowing his brother fought harder when he saw that he was making progress in hurting the other person.

He steeled himself for the next few blows, grabbing Gaara's feet and yanking him down to the ground where he would pin him. Pressing a forearm to his little brother's throat, Kankuro watched as his brother's face contorted into a snarl. Gaara didn't bother holding his breath, but rather strained against his brother's arm, clawing at it. His short, sharp nails left long trails of blood in their wake. Kankuro only grunted in response.

Suddenly Kankuro froze, a pain expression riddling his features. Gaara had kneed his brother in the crotch, leaving him immobile for a moment. Gaara threw Kankuro off of himself, pulling himself to his feet before staring down at his brother with disdain.

"That's _not_. Fair!" gasped Kankuro, who by now, had curled into a tight ball. Gaara squatted down close to his brother, his smirk wider than ever.

"Since when had life _ever _been fair, brother?"

Kankuro's eyes narrowed as he glared at his brother. Gaara merely snorted in amusement. He rose up again, lifting his foot. Kankuro closed his eyes, knowing he wouldn't be conscious for a while after this. He didn't even feel it, but rather knew that it had happened because hw as along in his sea of red again. Red, red, red. He'd been seeing a lot more of that lately. Gaara was getting more and more unpredictable as his new medicine began to lose its effectiveness.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

KANKURO'S HEAD HURT something terrible; he wanted nothing more than to go to sleep . The floor, where Gaara had left him lay after knocking him unconscious, was cold and hard. Sometimes, when Gaara was feeling a little guilty about leaving him on the floor, which wasn't often, he would pick his brother up and put him back on the bed. That hadn't happened in a long time.

Kankuro sometimes wondered if his brother even had a soul anymore. He'd become so heartless. That had almost always been his way, but it wasn't something Kankuro liked. He'd just gotten used to it. There was a fine line between love and hate. In regards to his brother, Kankuro wasn't sure what side of the line his brother fell on.

Exhaling silently, he lifted himself off of the floor and heaved himself back onto his bed. He wasn't go live like this anymore. It wasn't worth it; what the hell had been worth it in the first place, anyway? He'd been living this way for so long he couldn't remember ever being happy. Perhaps it was because he never had been.

He lay down to get some sleep, knowing that sleeping would get him further than pondering the failures of his life.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

NARUTO'S HEAD DIPPED lower and lower into his palm as he watched TV. He jolted when suddenly a hand glanced off the back of his head.

"Go to bed and give one of us a seat!" demanded another patient, one that Naruto didn't even recognize.

"Make me," he challenged. It was a dare, one that he _knew _the other patients wouldn't pass up. He was actually thinking of going to bed himself anyway, but he utterly detested being told what to do.

"Fine. _You_ asked for it, though!" A hand latched onto Naruto's hair, pulling him over the back of the couch and onto the floor. Naruto spun around, already preparing to attack. He knew it wouldn't be long before he was hauled off to his room. He needed to be quick.

His fists were flying before the other guy even knew what hit him; the man whom Naruto didn't even know tried to fight back but he was running a race he couldn't possibly win. Naruto's fists rained down on his body with such ferocity that he could only lay back and take it. The others knew better than to mess with Naruto when he was in a rage and had learned to block him out. They could never be sure, but they would swear he was manic-depressive with his insane highs and mind-boggling lows.

On some days Naruto was as happy as could be, talking and saying hello to anyone and everyone who crossed his path. Other days he was lower than low, plagued with violence outbursts and suicidal tendencies.

Naruto was frustrated with the way things went whenever he got into a fight. It was always just before he pummeled his aggressors into unconsciousness they _always_ came and pulled him away. He was _so_ close! Naruto struggled against the tall man holding him back, his muscled straining with the effort to break free.

"Easy now, Toto," soothed the guard, passing the needle under Naruto's skin. He was one of the few guards that was nice to Naruto and the only person in the world who could call him Toto. Naruto struggled for a few seconds longer, trying to struggle against the impending blackness that he couldn't stand. It made him feel weak and helpless, something he hated.

He sighed softly, only giving in when at last, his eyes began to grow heavy. "Rui?"

"What Tote?" Rui liked to call Naruto Toto, like the dog from Wizard of Oz, but often called him Tote for short. He had dark, tanned skin and had long ago resolved to shave his hair off, effectively preventing him from the worry that accompanied the idea of going bald.

"I'm sorry, Rui, I'm just not having a good... day..."

Naruto's head drooped after that. Knowing that he'd fallen into a drug-induced submissive state, Rui dragged Naruto back to his room, putting him to bed. Poor guy needed better medication. This vicious cycle was _not _ working; the orderly knew that much.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SNIFF, SNIFF! HE detected the odor of something sweet. He liked the smell of it.

He crawled along on all fours, his nose pressed to the floor as he investigated for the source of the smell. It was light, fruity, and made his mouth positively water. He was _going_ to find it! He scuffled along, scowling when he lost the track of the delectable smell.

"Kiba! Get up off the floor this instance!"

Kiba's scowl deepened, and when he looked up at the orderly, his eyes narrowed. "No!" he snarled, gnashing his teeth in anger. "Just leave me _alone_!"

"I'm under direct orders to make sure that you don't behave this way, Kiba! Please, just help me out," the guard pleaded. "You're gonna get me fired!"

"So?" barked Kiba, baring his teeth in a dog-like fashion. "What's 'at got to with me?"

"I got kids, na. Can't ya just walk like a person for a few minutes? Just down to lunch? I'll bring ya a bone tomorrow!" The man smiled encouragingly and Kiba sighed, finally relenting.

"Fine. But I'd have done it for a bit of kibble, ya know." Kiba said with his smile, flashing his large canines.

Kiba shook hands with the orderly before sauntering into the lunch room and glaring at the other officials. He _hated_ them—_they_ were the ones who demanded that he pretended to be a human when knew _damned _well that he was a dog.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

KIBA SLOWLY ATE his mashed potatoes, the plastic spork feeling heavy in his hands. He ate slowly, eating around the edges to protect the pool of gravy. One orderly in particular, who badger for this, flung out his hand in a crude, mocking gesture relating to homosexuality. Kiba didn't see the sense in it; how could the way that someone ate their mashed potatoes reflect their orientation?

The orderly cast him the usual glare, which Kiba returned perfectly. One of the prettier nurses walked up to the orderly, whose glare instantly disappeared. His flirting face, which Kiba knew only too well because this jackass was a self-proclaimed "player," was set and his words were flowing smoothly. Kiba knew the girl was eating up his lies and promises, quicker even than the other had ever done before.

He scowled when she pouted, giving him puppy dog eyes. That was not the proper time! Kiba scooped himself up a spoonful of mashed potatoes, pausing to dip them into gravy. THWANG! That was the sound the spork made as he released his fingers from the tonged end of the utensil, the gooey mass flying through the air before landing on his nemesis' forehead. His enemy froze, a steady hand fisting around the goo. The way it pulled the good from his hair was much less smooth.

"Who threw this?" he demanded, his face uglying with rage. Kiba smiled, knowing that he'd won and the nurse would not be fucking the rude orderly tonight.

All eyes were averted and no one stepped forward; he was not well liked. It did not matter who had thrown it. Each and every one of them would have remained quiet out of respect for the brave soul who had stood up to him.

He looked around, his eyes on the side of the room that was opposite of Kiba. THWANG! Another fresh sporkful of goo was catapulted, landing with a sticky plop in his right eye. The orderly growled, sweeping the mash potatoes from his face with his hand. He flung them to the floor in rage.

Suddenly another food wad, this time the disgusting macaroni that was always lumpy and cold, found its way to his face. Just like that, food was flying everywhere with its surprised ring-leader sitting still for only a moment before launching into action, grabbing fistfuls of food off of his own plate and those around him. He flung them with all he was worth, delighting whenever he his target, whether he'd planned to hit that target or not.

After about ten minutes the food fight was broken up and they were taken back to their cells—pardon me, I mean _rooms_—where they were to await punishment after the starter of the food fight was determined.

Kiba knew he'd be in trouble, but what was the worst they could do? Put him into solitary?

After about ten minutes of a food fight, it was broken up. They were all taken back their cells, pardon me-_rooms,_where they were to wait until they could determine who started it. So it got him a few days; what was the big deal? He could handle being cooped up in a dark room for days. It was actually an approved discipline, but Danzo liked it. He said encouraged good behavior.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

HIS EYES STARED blankly at his hands, his shoulders sagging with the fatigue that never left him. Some would analyze him, saying the fatigue he _claimed_ to feel all the time was fake, a cry for attention. However, it was a true feeling.

He never felt awake anymore. His onyx eyes were often only half open, cooly sliding over the features of whatever or whoever he was studying. He had a photographic memory like that. He could remember the little details of people; the way their faces moved when they talked, the certain habits they had, or the way they acted in certain emotional situations—everything.

He was rather anti-social, despite the fact that he managed to be cordial when addressing family members. Of course, his family members were the only ones he was ever polite to. When he met new people he was outright indifferent, writing them off when they didn't meet his standards—especially if they were annoying.

Sasuke sighed, pulling himself out of his bed and dragging himself over to his window. He'd only need one more day... then he could fulfill his plan. He was going to kill his roommate.

Lee was one of the _most _annoying people he knew. The stupid bastard with the atrocious bowl-cut was always telling him to cheer up and be happy. It wasn't that fucking easy! Lee was obsessive compulsive and had body dysmorphic disorder. He worked out constantly, the endless flow of endorphins causing him to be over-the-top-shoot-me-right-fucking-now happy. It sickened Sasuke.

Lee was sleeping at the moment. Sasuke had already figured everything out. He'd been buying sleeping pills from his neighbor, an insomniac. He'd been buying them in small amounts, one here, and one there. Sasuke planned to empty the little pills into Lee's morning oatmeal.

Sasuke settled into bed again, unable to sleep with his excitement. Tomorrow would be the day. Then he'd be rid of the last thing from this place that bothered him. Then he'd be perfectly happy with his life again.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL do you think you're doing," a lazy voice whispered into his ear.

Sasuke spun around guiltily, the capsule still in his hand. Shikamaru rose a tired brow, the smirk on his face widening substantially. Upon seeing who it was, Sasuke shrugged. "I'm killing Lee." Shikamaru snorted in delight, Sasuke's honest not surprising him at all.

Shikamaru plopped down next to his raven-haired friend at the small circular table. "Why? He's a nice guy." Before Sasuke could stop him, Shikamaru's hand darted out and snagged a few of Sasuke's pills.

Sasuke scoffed loudly, rolling his eyes. "That's the point. He's unbearable."

"So are you, you depressed old goat," snaped an old man from across the table. Shikamaru burst into a fit of laughter. Sasuke merely raised a surprised brow.

"Old goat? _That's_ new..." Sasuke straightened, sweeping the capsules off of the table and into his own cereal that he wasn't going to eat. "Lee," he called out, boredom oozing from the single syllable.

"Sasuke? You need something?" Lee asked brightly, flashing the morbid boy a dazzling smile.

"Yeah, eat your breakfast." Sasuke sighed, holding out the bowl. "You'd better eat it. I took the time to get it and I'll be damned if you turn down my peace offering."

Lee took a hesitant bite of the oatmeal. Shikamaru smirked, asking "Is it good?"

"Yes! Very!" smiled Lee, his bushing brows tilting up in agreement.

"All right, Sasuke, I'm gonna want some of that oatmeal tomorrow," laughed Shikamaru, knowing that Sasuke understood him. Sasuke would have to pay him pills in exchange for silence.

Lee was halfway through his oatmeal when he began to slow down, his face lax after five minutes of practically inhaling sleeping pills.

"Are you okay, Lee?" His tone was mocking, but Lee wouldn't have caught it, drugged or not.

"I—yeah, I'm just tired," Lee said with a shrug.

"How much did you give him?" hissed Shikamaru. "They don't work this fast!"

"Enough to take down a horse. Or perhaps a small elephant... I gave him sedatives _and_ sleeping pills," whispered Sasuke, his smirk growing. "I had to be sure."

"Sasuke, for future reference, I'm _never _eating _anything_ you make," drawled Shikamaru, covering his bemused smile with a lazy hand.

"Sasuke?" groaned Lee, doubling over.

"Hmm?"

"I don't feel so good... what the heck did you put in my oatmeal?"

"Oh, just regular old oatmeal, sugar, cinnamon, sleeping pills, syrup—"

"_Sleeping pills?!" _shrieked Lee, surprising Sasuke. This was the first time he'd ever seen Lee get mad. "Sasuke Uchiha is trying to _kill_ me! He spiked my breakfast! _Help_ me!"

All of the orderly in the room froze, unsure of what to think. Lee was, after all, overly exuberant, but Sasuke did hate his guts. Erring on the side of caution, two orderlies escorted Lee to the infirmary. He passed out before they even managed to leave the room. Sasuke's face split into a smile and he burst out laughing. Shikamaru scooted away from him, having never seen him laugh, let alone have a fit like this.

The tapes from the cafeteria would later be viewed, seeing Shikamaru as an accomplice. He did nothing to prevent the attack, rather egging Sasuke on instead. This evident sent him off to the South Wing as well. Shikamaru was crushed, having lost his supplier in the move. He was going to have to hunt for a new one now. Being a pill-popper was harder than one might think.

* * *

**Author's Note- So, this is just the beginning. :D But, where is Sakura, you ask? Well she, and a few others, will be along soon after. :D So, reviews are amazing, and I hope you enjoy!**

**Reviews please ! I need input! 1...2...3... CLICK! :)**

**Lauren/Mellokai**


	2. A Not So Warm Welcome

Sakura sighed, pulling her key chain out of her pocket, and started to flick through the keys, looking for the right one. "There you are."

She smiled to herself, propping the large bag of groceries against the doorway to open the door. Sakura shut the door behind her, and flicked the light on, She threw the keys on the counter, pausing when she heard a sound. She was just getting ready to take off her shoes when she heard another sound.

She froze when she heard a giggle. Somewhere in the back of her mind it registered that she knew that giggle, but she pushed that thought aside and wandered back to her bedroom anyway.

"Sai? Are you home?" She asked as she pushed open the door, groceries still clutched tightly in her arms. Sai looked up at her shamelessly and then went back to what he was doing- which was fucking Sakura's sister. It didn't even count as sex, or a casual fuck- they were making love. Ino's facial expression was clearly shocked, and she shoved Sai off of her.

"Sakura!" She gasped with surprise, her clear blue eye's suddenly shedding their passionate haze. "Oh my god-"

Sakura had dropped the groceries and was staring at the both of them blankly- she was shocked to say the least. Sakura turned on heal, marching off to let the terrible information soak in before she did something she'd regret.

"Sakura,wait!" Called Sai finally, finally realizing what was happening. He'd been so caught up in the moment that he hadn't even been able to collect himself.

"Me? You wait! You couldn't wait a fucking little bit longer could you?" Sakura stomped back to the room, pulling out of her grocery bag the cleverly hidden lingerie. That was why she'd been smiling earlier- she was going to surprise him. It turned out that she had been the one to get the surprise, and she couldn't say she enjoyed it as much as he would've enjoyed hers. Sai's face went blank, and then he scowled, knowing this was going nowhere.

"It's was before..." Sai cast his gaze to the floor, ashamed. Sakura couldn't help but notice how starkly naked he was with each moment that passed.

"What was?" Asked Sakura, suddenly sure that his answer would not bring good news. The knot of bitter misery in her the base of her stomach was winder tighter and tighter. She wondered if it was possible for a person to snap in half because of their own misery.

"We were in a... relationship- before this," mumbled Sai, his eyes now glaring at his hands which were clenched tightly in his lap, doing a poor job of hiding his nudeness.

"You idiot! Why would you- Sakura! Look, it's nothing personal, it's just..." Ino suddenly grabbed the covers, and covered herself up realzing she was still naked. Her mind was working very slowly, as if she was the one who was unable to process what was going on.

"What Ino? That you have to steal every man I'm with? Is that it? Gawd! I wish you were never born you, fucking slut!" Sakura marched over to her sister, slapping her across the face with everything she as worth. Then she left.

She didn't know where she was going, but she didn't care as long as she was away from here. Ino was throwing on her clothing as fast as she could to chase after her sister, but she didn't exactly know what she was going to say. She couldn't let it end like this; that was all she knew.

Sakura fled out the front door and down to her precious car. She tripped, falling into the door with a loud grunt. She bit back a sob, and yanked the door to her car open, throwing herself inside. It was only after slamming the door with vicious emotion that she realized her keys were still on the counter, right where she always put them. She let out as loud a swear as she could muster, her voice cracking with the effort and emotion of it, and bolted back inside. Her hands were closing around the keys when her sister jogged out of her room, wearing her shirt and shorts. First her boyfriend, and then her clothes. You couldn't insult a woman more in one day, could you?

"Sakura, look- I'm sorry! But Sai-" Ino rambled helplessly, tears streaking her attractive face.

"Ino! It's always the guys that come after you isn't it? Like River, and Kanojo, huh? Forget it, Ino! I'll won't forgive you till the day you die. So don't ever talk to me again," Sakura sucked in a shuddering breath, and made a motion to leave.

"Wait! Sakura, please you can't leave like this!" Ino protested, trying to stop her pitiful crying.

Sakura turned on heel, secretly proud to make her dramatic exit work this time. She clattered down the steps, her heels flurrying loudly across the wood. She yelped when her heel slipped across a step, but caught herself and continued down. Ino chased her down them, her bare feet slapping painfully against the cool surface. She was saying something, but Sakura didn't care to hear what it was.

"Sakura! Please, call someone to drive you! You're not in any condition to drive! You're going to hurt yourself! I'm sorry, Sakura! Please!" Ino sobbed, ignoring the gravel beneath her feet.

She positioned herself in front of the car, between Sakura and the road.

"Sakura, you can't drive like this!"

Sakura revved the car, and flicked the it into reverse, and stomped on the pedal. At least, she thought that she'd put the car in reverse. The car lurched forward at a surprising speed, and Ino and Sakura both screamed. Their unified scream dwindled down to a solo shriek which would be drown out by the horrible screeching of the tires.

"Ino! Oh my god, oh my god!" Cried out Sakura, pushing the door open and throwing herself down on the ground. Her voice was raw with pure emotion and betrayal. "Ino..."

As mad as she was at her sister, they were still sisters. And death would have changed everything. She didn't know if she had meant what she said or not, but she'd sure believed it when she said it. They'd been through it all before, and Sakura probably would have forgave her, had she been given the time and the chance.

Sai had run out of the house, and shoved Sakura aside to watch the woman he really loved breath her last breath. He turned around at one point to promise Sakura that she'd pay. Sakura was in too much a state of shock to even point out that she was the victim in this whole matter- that by cheating on her he'd brought it all on himself. She couldn't even be sure that he said it- she could have sworn that she saw Ino rise up out of her dead body, and give her a hug before strolling off down the street.

At the funeral, after being convincted of vehicular manslaughter, she wondered if she had known that she hadn't put it in reverse. Maybe she'd never know. She didn't even remember it happening afterward, just the getting out of the car and staring at her sister.

She'd stared at her sister for hours as the police men took pictures, a glazed over expression riddling her features. She would've forgotten to breath if her body hadn't been programmed to do it. After a while, the car had been moved and Sakura had watched, transfixed, even though the police officers had told her it would be better to close her eyes, or look away. The car had rolled off of her sister, and there were deep indents where the tires had been. When the pressure of the car and tires had been removed, the blood seemed to seep out of everything.

Sakura would have nightmares of that for the rest of her life. She was evaluated by the police's shrink, though she didn't really remember it. She vaguely recollected that he had dark brown hair, a dark mask of stubble, and a cigarette that was constantly poised at his lips. He'd asked if she minded. She'd said 'no'. The whole court subject was fuzzy, and she couldn't remember it too well. She didn't even remember talking to him,or what color his eyes were for the fact that she knew he was older. He'd been nice though- she remembered feeling safe, and that he smelled of sweet tobacco, like her grandfather had when she was younger.

She wondered what being sentenced to an undetermined amount of time in a mental institution would be like. She sure as hell didn't care anymore. Sakura was now only a shell of the beautiful girl she once was- her beautiful pink tresses- yes, they're real (genetic disorder)- now hung limply to her shoulders. Her hair was full of split ends that, months ago, never would've been allowed. Her vibrant green eyes were dull and lifeless, and her porcelain skin was now dry and unhealthy looking. She never felt safe anymore- she was always on edge, though her body was always relaxed and calm. She put on quite the facade.

* * *

"Your belongings, miss. They need to be checked over before they can be allowed into the building. Certain patients can't come into contact with other patients who aren't allowed sharp objects. And where you're going... let's just say you don't want any sharp objects." Rambled an older woman, her dark brown eyes full of understanding. Sakura was reminded of deep brown pools of shit that reaked of understanding and compassion.

Sakura nodded slowly, her hair falling into her eyes. There was a dim realization that she needed to cut off her hair, but she liked it better long- it was easier to hide her face. It suited her personality as well- sad and forgotten. Sakura brushed it aside though, because it was now time for her identification picture. She sighed, clearing her mind before the picture. She didn't need this photo to turn out like her passport photo where she'd been chewing gum, and had her mouth hanging wide open.

"Done."

"Wha'? But I didn't even-" Sakura broke off with a sigh- now she was going look like a mongoloid. "Whatever."

Sakura moved over to the small line where she would wait for her plastic ID, letting her head fall so that her hair covered her eyes. She accepted her ID card, sighing again when she saw how sad she looked. Not ugly, but ... like she'd given up. She smirked then, because she realized the card suited her. She clasped it tightly in her hand, though not too tightly for the light plastic would break.

"Over here, kiddo." Smiled the old lady softly, flipping open a small booklet. She had veiny, wrinkled hands that were beafy, and well-worn with age. Sakura glanced down at her own hands, noting the bony structure and puffy, cracked fingertips that sometimes oozed blood. "Size?"

Sakura sighed, something she did very often these days, and told the lady her size. The old lady winced, as though she was worried. Sakura took in the large size of the lady in front of her. She had that very special grandmother quality about her. She seemed like the kind of grandmother who would have fresh cookies ready whenever the grandchildren came over, and the kind that would cradle the children close to her bosom when they were worried and missing mother.

"I'll see if we have one that small, kay, hon?" Sakura nodded dully. She thought to herself that as annoying as the middle-aged woman had seemed at first, she sure was a keeper.

"Haruno?" asked the older lady, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I'm the librarian here as well, so if you like to read come on down to see me, kay, hon?" Sakura nodded, not letting any emotion flicker past her eyes. But inside, she was excited somewhat. She loved to read, though she hadn't had much time lately, what with the tragedy and all.

"Alright, missie, last stop. Shoes." Sakura pulled her sandals off, and then the Librarian smiled. "Sandals? Great. You can keep those- you'll be getting more, by the way. Standard issue. Your sneakers will be in your room. If you have any sandals at home, you can request that they be brought in, though do keep in mind all packages coming and leaving the premises are thoroughly searched."

Sakura nodded, and took both pairs of sandals, bending down to put her own sandals back on. She liked the rich, southern drawl that The Librarian's voice had. It was unique, and comforting.

"Where am I staying?" Sakura asked softly, her voice barely a whisper. It was raspy with disuse.

"South Wing, dear. But... make sure you take care of yourself. There're some nasty ones down there," The Librarian informed her. Sakura had been told of her name before, but that was how she thought of her. The Librarian. No first, middle, or even last name. Just- The Librarian. It was easier that way.

Sakura stared at her ID card, her ID number running through her head over and over. She wasn't human anymore; she was a product- and she had a serial number to prove it. She was trying to memorize it when The Librarian's hand closed around hers. "This way, hon." Sakura liked the way she was frequently called hon. No one ever called her hon- it was always 'sweetie'. She wasn't sweet anymore, that much she was certain of. She had grown sour and spoiled with age. She was now rotten. But anyone could be 'hon.'

"Here we are!" beamed The Librarian, her off-white, smoothly polished teeth revealed behind darkly lip-sticked lips. They were dentures. She tucked a strand of her short grey-brown hair behind her ear, stroking the thick pearl earing for a moment befor resting her hand on Sakura's shoulder.

"This is it? This is where I'm staying?" questioned Sakura skeptically, turning her head to give The Librarian an incredulous look.

"Oh, no, this is where you're changing. We have your uniform for you," smiled The Librarian. Sakura nodded curtly, and took the clothing she was offered. As she slipped into the long, blue-gray pants she remembered the Librarian's face. She had dark brown eyes, and dark brown-grey hair that was cropped close to her was a bigger woman, but it was safe to say she had some beauty about her. It was as if her soul was shining through her skin, illuminating and highlighting the natural beauty that she possessed. It was even safer to say that they would be friends- Sakura was, after all, planning to spend all the time that she could in the library.

Sakura pulled the sleeveless shirt on, and then did the buttons up. The button's were offset to one side, and the style of it reminded her of her mother's kimonos. As a child, she would try on the kimonos and wear the brightly colored pieces around the house till her mother caught her. Sakura sighed, pulling her hair back away from her face as she looked in the mirror. She prodded her thin cheek, miserable to feel the bone so easily.

She needed to put weight back on, but she was never hungry anymore. It was like her body was willing her to die, and she didn't know why she was still hanging on.

The thought of food made her sick to her stomach.

"Finished?" asked The Librarian. Sakura replied with a yes, and the door opened. "Come along, now- now you are going to see your living quarters."

Sakura nodded, allowing The Librarian- who she now dubbed Lib- to guide her gently through the halls with her hand on her elbow. Being touched was always reassuring to her for some reason, though it depended on who was touching her.

The hallways seemed endless, and Sakura was glad to have her guide. The walls were merely painted cement in some places, and smooth tile in others. There were hallways that were carpeted, but they were behind locked doors. Sakura asked Lib about them, and she was told that those were the living quarters. There was a main room that all of the people of one wing were to share. All in all, there were about fifteen different wings, with no more than eighteen at the absolute most for each wing. There were five to six rooms for each wing, but the number of patients there was up to Tsunade, the Chief of Medicine.

Lib opened the door to Sakura's room, and Sakura sighed. She was sharing her room- which was okay by her as long as the other girl didn't touch her stuff.

She wondered who it would be then shrugged to herself because it wouldn't matter anyway. "Sakura, meet Kallou. Kallou, meet Sakura."

Kallou looked up from her book, and lifted her chin in recognition of Sakura. Sakura nodded back, and The Librarian smiled brightly.

"Alrightie, then! I'm off dears. Sakura, you're belongings will arrive in a little bit. They'll be left by the main door, so make sure you get them before someone else does. Also, the main door is the only door that locks from the outside. All these doors lock from the inside, to ensure the privacy of those within the rooms. Ta-ta!"

Sakura sat on the lower bunk of the bunkbeds, and sighed softly. At least it was somewhat comfortable. The bunk beds were made out of wood, but the single beds were made out of metal. There was a bunkbed, and a single bed to every room. Sakura stood up, and turned to look at the bed.

Sakura glanced up at Kallou, marveling at the long hair. It was white from the roots to almost tip, but was jet black on the end. Sakura shrugged, figuring it wasn't any weirder than her own pink hair. She supposed it was a dye-job that was now growing out. Sakura wondered if Kallou's hair was really white, or if it was just a very light platinum.

"So, I don't have any bed linens?" asked Sakura slowly, looking up for some reaction from Kallou. Kallou shrugged, and shook her head 'no'. Sakura sighed, plopping down on the bed anyway. She was going to take a nap- she didn't care whether or not Kallou thought she was strange for napping at two in the afternoon-she just wanted some damn sleep!

She wasn't sure if she was tired, or just wanted to avoid awkward conversation- not that she was likely to get any. Kallou was selectively mute, only talking when she wanted to. She could go silent for days. Naturally, Sakura was not aware of this.

But, as she would soon find out- some people could not be silent. Like Kai and Naruto for example- they could talk the ears off wooden Indians.

She met them on the way to eat dinner- she was starved. Kai and Naruto both introduced themselves and immediately they were in conversation. They were so good-natured that she wondered briefly why such kind, goofy people were in the worst wing of the place.

When their group entered the cafeteria, a table was immediately cleared for them. Sakura looked around with surprise. 'This is just like high school! Ridiculous...'

They didn't even have to wait in line. One of the perks of being with the Sick South Wingers, as they were referred to, was that they were revered as some of the most dangerous people in the institution. They were the scariest people in the place- especially when they got mad. How Sakura had gotten paired with them was a mystery to her, but she didn't care. As long as they weren't trying to kill her, she was cool.

"No!" hissed Kai. "Never get the meatloaf. It's... mystery meat." Kai's eyes widened meaningfully, and Sakura could see for the first time that they were a deep brown. How had she not noticed? Oh well...

"Thanks... What should I-?"

"Here." Kai reached up to the serving counter and pulled down a ham sandwich, and set it on Sakura's tray. "Much better. Unless you like eating week old meat. That's why they call it meatloaf surprise- you never know what's gonna be in there." Kai smiled, though it seemed to wilt a little bit when Sakura only nodded.

"Kai! Grab me that pudding!" It sounded like an order, but from Kankuro, that was about as much of a question as you could get. Sakura liked the deep and rich male tone that his voice possessed.

Kai growled, picking up the pudding. She hurled it toward Kankuro who caught it easily. "Fuck nuggets..." Muttered Kai. Sakura rose a brow. Apparently not everything in Kai's little world was bright and sparkly.

"So," asked Kai, a little too brightly. "Do you like your room? Kal is a little quiet- ok, really quiet, but she's a great secret keeper!"

"Mhm." Sakura nodded, setting her tray down on the table. Kai sighed heavily, realizing Sakura wasn't the type to talk, and then turned to Naruto and Kiba, who loved to talk.

Sakura's head dipped lower and lower as she fought her boredom, forcing herself to eat. Kankuro flicked an ice cube at her when she was almost asleep, and Sakura shot him a glare. Kankuro laughed, flicking another one her way. She loved his laugh, the way it arched and swooped. Someone kicked him under the table, and he glared at Kai,but when she shrugged he scowled. If it hadn't been her... Gaara elbowed his brother in the ribs, and then leaned over to whisper something in his ear.

A smirk was evident on his face, something everyone but Sakura knew meant bad news. Her heart rushed nervously, suspecting that he was talking about her.

Dinner was relatively uneventful, and marginally quick. The sandwich suggestion had been a good one- Sakura could see other newcomers and unlucky souls that had been near the end of the line gagging on the strange meatloaf, and the others at the table laughing with entertainment and glee.

At least she had someone looking out for her- even if she did talk nonstop, and randomly burst into song. Sakura wondered how the scarier ones in the group- those who looked like they didn't put up with bullshit- managed to put up with her.

They were allowed to stop at the library before "Wing Lock Down," and Kai asked her what kind of stuff she liked.

"Mystery? Great. This way." Kai led her to the corner of the room where Gaara and Kallou sat in armchairs, nose-deep in their books. Kankuro, who she'd suspected to be a complete moron, was actually picking out a huge pile of books.

Kai left Sakura to her own devices, and promptly began browsing through the titles, racking up a stack of books even larger than

Kankuro's and Kallou's- she was quite the reader as well. But then, what else were you supposed to do in a place like this?

Kai made another small pile, something that Sakura didn't quite understand, but made no mention of. However, when Kai began a third pile, she had to inquire as to what was going on.

"Kai- what are you doing? Are you going to read all those!"

"Nope. This one is one's I've aleady read and want to ask the Librarian to find sequels to if she can, and this one is for you. You need properly educated in the art of amazing books. And you're going to read them- I might have to force you at first, but you'll begging me to bring you more when you're done with them all." Sakura turned to Kankuro who widened his eyes meaningfully and nodded to the books. He snickered when Sakura's features became pained and nervous.

"See? I even got that idiot to read," beamed Kai. Sakura nodded wearily and accepted the pile of books with a small murmur of 'thanks', before turning and walking over to The Librarian to check them out.

"Sakura! I'm glad you came to the library! I see Kai's gotten to you, huh?" Smiled The Librarian, the questions rushing at Sakura like little bombs of happiness.

"Yeah... Um, you said to watch out for them, but they don't even seem that bad!" shrugged Sakura, offering a timid smile.

"Don't let them fool you. Once they're used to you, you'll see how crazy they are. Sometimes, being new is a good thing. Stick up for yourself though- they're testing you. The boys are mostly the trouble makers, but Kai has a serious temper. And Kallou... well, we don't know much about her, other than that she's new. " Sighed The Librarian.

"Alright, well thanks. I'm going to go..." Sakura held up her books, gesturing to the chairs around Gaara and Kallou.

"Don't sit in anyone's seat!" Called out The Librarian. Sakura held up a lazy hand, not really listening to her.

She plopped down in the first chair she found, noting immediately how comfy it was.

"Don't sit there," whispered Kiba. Sakua eyed the red triangles on his cheek, and raised a brow. Weird.

"Why not?" retorted Sakura, her chin jutting out defiantly. He was panting, like a dog. Sakura recoiled slightly.

"That's Kankuro's seat. He doesn't hit girls, but he'll sure as hell break your arm." Kai said from the chair next to her, not even bothering to look up from her book. Sakura sighed and stood up.

"But there's no chairs!"

"Then go. Get. One." Spat Kai, as if she was talking to a six year old. Sakura's scowl was audible as she stomped off to find her own chair. She had to drag it over all by herself, and that thing was fucking huge. At least it was comfortable.

Shikamaru sighed, scooting his chair over the definite least amount he could to give her room into their corner. Kai apologized for snapping at her, and then snapped at Kiba for making a rude joke. Kallou still hadn't said a word. Naruto and Kiba were reading- wait for it- something Sakura had expected Kankuro to check out. What was it? I'll give you a second.

Yup, porn. Sakura rose a brow. It was strange how they could flip through so calmly, and even giggle at it without breaking a straight face. It was like they were little kids, looking through their parent's old photos.

Gaara sat near the window, his feet pulled up under him on the chair. He sat cross legged as he read, and she watched him for a moment as his stoic features remained immobile, even to the littlest tick of movement. His eyes roamed quickly across the words. The icy blue that they maintained was startling in the dimming light that filtered through the window. She wondered what they'd look like when they had better lighting.

Sakura jumped when his eyes slid over to her, glaring at her without even turning his head. Sakura blushed a light pink, and turned her gaze to someone else. Kallou, who sat to Gaara's left, read silently. She propped her head up on one arm, and held the book in the other. Her lips were moving slightly as she read, and Sakura couldn't help but narrow her eyes- so she didn't talk, but she could... pretend to do so through books? She scowled, knowing she was probably far off. She blinked for a second when Kallou's eyes caught the light- they were silver! She sighed, and glanced down at her book. My Sister's Keeper... Sakura wondered what Kallou was reading, and leaned over so that she could catch the title of the book. 'Listen.' Hmm. She liked those kind of thought provoking titles.

She sighed, lifting her sights from Kallou to observe the others. The male with the dark hair read with his feet on the floor, and the book propped up in one hand. Sasuke- yeah that was it. He was the only one of the group that read like a normal person. His equally dark eyes devoured the word as a leisurely pace, flicking up to glare at her every so often. Sakura glanced back over to Naruto, to see him frowning in disgust. She wondered what his problem was. Didn't all men like staring at naked women?

Shikamaru sat sideways, his legs hanging over one arm of his chair as he rested his head against the other. He read faster than anyone of the group- even Kai who had already worked herself halfway through a book. She couldn't see what he was reading, but it must've been good- that was the most awake she'd seen him looking all day. Whereas Shikamaru woke up, others seemed to drift off into la-la land.

Kai let out a long sigh, and Sakura rose a quizzical brow when she saw the strange position. Kai was upside down, her feet hooked over the back of the chair. She held the book closed to her face, sighing when ever she got to a slow place. Kai's brown hair fanned out on the seat cushion, her brown eyes darkening in the low lights. She could smell her from where she sat, of fruit and citrus smells. She closed her eyes, remembering that as a similar smell of her sister. But then she sighed, knowing that if she compared everyone to her sister, she'd never make any friends.

Kankuro would look up every so often to make sure no one was watching him. He seemed to be on edge all the time, and Sakura couldn't help but question why. Not verbally no, but to herself. Kankuro himself was a strong man, no doubt due to the tussles with his more wiry little brother, as The Librarian had told her of during their long walk through the halls. But still, you'd think being that big would make you more sure of yourself, wouldn't you? She jumped when Kankuro caught her staring, giving her such a vicious glare that she thought her heart would stop.

Sakura lowered her eyes to her book, her heart thudding in her chest. This place was strange, and she was going to have to be careful if she didn't want to be killed. The people here were more unpredictable than the weather. One minute sunny, then the next they were in a rage. She wondered if she was like this as well. She'd never noticed it. But, then her opinion was biased wasn't it?

**Author's Note- so there! you like? I hope so. :)**

**I was planning on updating once a week, but I have a better idea. Give me ten-15 reviews a chapter, and I think I can live with that. ;) So! Get to reviewing if you want that next chapter. ;) Sorry to demand for reviews- I just REALLY REALLY LIKE THEM!**

**Lauren/Mellokai**


	3. Gifts Better Left Returned

"GROUP THEREPY?" ASKED Sakura, arching a feminine brow skeptically "What the hell is that?"

"Well... we get to see Granny Tsunade, and we all sit around and talk about stuff," explained Naruto, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. His shy smile denied his need to be recognized. He was curious to see what the others were in for. He'd been to a group session before, but never with this particular group of patients. "They're usually okay unless Tsunade is having a bad day, or has a really full schedule. Then she's all stressed out and stuff..."

"Oh... Well... I guess that's okay." Sakura turned away from the bulletin board, and started back to her room.

A foot launched out of a nowhere, deliberately tripping her, and she was sent sprawling. "Oof!" She rolled over, and looked up to see Gaara silently watching television with a decidedly blank expression and Kai reading her book. Who the hell had tripped her! Sakura scowled and picked herself up off the floor and continued on her way.

"You mean you're going to take that?" Kai shouted after her, humor filling her voice. "You're not going to last long if that's how you react to things like that!"

Sakura spun around, a slur of swears flying off her tongue so viciously she was surprised when Kai didn't even flinch. She was even more so when Kai gave her thumbs up. "No that's more like it! Bring it betch!"

Sakura's jaw dropped, and she blinked once or twice before screaming and slamming the door. She heard Kai laugh again, and she ferociously screamed at her to shut the hell up.

Sakura kicked the metal door, instantly regretting it. Her toe throbbed rudely, the blood turning it bright red.

"Is she always such a friggin' idiot?" demanded Sakura, spinning around on one foot and hopping as she held the other. Kallou narrowed her eyes, writing in her notebook.

'Pretty much!'

Sakura continued to hop on what foot, letting out a long sigh when she realized that she was annoying her roommate. Kallou raised an eyebrow, and Sakura growled with self-loathing. Everyone hated her! So much for making a good impression- that was her mother's golden rule. But, so much for her mother's rules, huh? She was playing by a totally different, erratic, and illogical set of rules that only the other members of South Wing seemed to know. She was in for a long haul- and she didn't even know how long she would be here.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SASUKE LEANED BACK in his chair, staring at the lights. They burned themselves into his retinas, and he repressed a bored smile. He looked down from the lights, everything he focused on blurred out with a fantastic color. He wondered absently what his brother was doing, and then scowled. He always thought of him, but then he didn't really care anymore, did he?

His scowl deepened when he heard Naruto and Kiba loudly conversing about some trivial fact, their debate growing louder by the minutes. He could practically feel his brain twiching spasmodic with each loss of a brain cell. He wondered how many more brain cells until he lost an IQ point.

"Down is softer than cotton, moron!" snapped Kiba.

"Nuh-uh! Down's got the little pokey things!" roared Naruto. Gaara, having already grown used to their antics, calmly pulled his feet up off the floor. Sasuke, who had only been there a few days longer than Sakura, but was not considered new anymore, didn't understand why they fought like this.

"Down!" barked Kiba.

"Cotton stuffing!" growled Naruto. He and Kiba both took off at the same time, and leaped into the air, tackling each other to the ground. Kiba yelped when Naruto slammed his elbow into his spine, but that only pissed him off more. He wiggled under Naruto's grip, working his way on top. He had just pinned him when wordlessly Kallou opened the door to her room, and dragged Kiba off of Naruto by the ear.

"Oww! Ow-ow-ow!" Squealed Kiba. "Leggo! O-ow, Kal!" Kallou sighed softly, and pinched harder for a second before letting go. Kiba flopped down on the floor, rubbing his ear disdainfully. Kallou pointed to Naruto who was still getting his breath back. "No!"

Kallou made a face, narrowing her eyes and flipping her hair back. Kiba crossed his lightly muscled arms over his chest, and stared defiantly at the wall.

'Man. Their like kids!' Thought Sasuke with disbelief. He'd escaped one terror, and was now literally locked up with two. He opened his book, picking up where he left off. When he next looked up again, to see what was going on, Kiba had already apologized and he and Naruto were playing a board game. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, snapping his book shut. This was unbelievable!

Sasuke stomped off to his room, and climbed onto the top bunk. He closed his eyes, letting the sleep overcome him. Being around them made him fatigue unbearable. He was drowning in his need for sleep, and if he had to stay out there any longer, he'd surely die of exhaustion.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"SASUKE IT'S SESSION time; come on," yelled Naruto, his face right up next to Sasuke's. Sasuke jolted awake, pulling away from the close proximity of Naruto's face.

"Ok..." Naruto nodded, hopped off the ladder and clattered out of the room. It was a mystery to Sasuke how someone could clatter _anywhere_ just by _walking_. Naruto was a walking, breathing natural disaster.

Naruto waited by the door leading out of the wing as the others got ready. They were supposed to be going to see Tsunade for their session already, but many of them were still getting ready. Gaarra and Kankuro leaned angstily against the wall, side by side, something that they had perfected long ago. Kankuro glared at Naruto, daring him to open his mouth and say something stupid. Kankuro couldn't stand Kai and Naruto, with their obnoxious childish behavior. Kallou had been there for a week or so longer than Kai, but they'd actually built up a little bit of a reputation in the place before they got sent here.

Today was one of the first sessions of many that they'd have with each other, and Gaara was curious to see how it would go. He didn't plan on saying a word, though, but he'd already planned on taking in everything he could. Kankuro hadn't decided yet, but was- as he usually was- going with the flow of things. Sasuke? Well he just wanted to sleep.

Sakura, Kai, and Kallou wandered over to them. They were finally ready to go.

They were headed to the conference room. It was full of comfy chairs and soft, carpeted floors. Kai's headphones were blaring, the soft strands of rubber draped idly around her neck.

Kankuro slipped in his headphones to block the blare bursting from Kai's. And then they were off, following the official down the halls. There was always a large area of space between them and the other patients. Sakura wished she was with them, away from these crazy people. She didn't understand why when she, who had killed her sister by accident, was put with some of the worst killers and most unpredictable patients in the whole fucking institution.

The walk was relatively short, considering the large facility, and the innumerable almost mile of hallway that she'd encountered when first coming to facility. The facility itself was old, and falling apart in some areas. A few parts of it were freshly renovated, though. They were greeted at the door by Tsunade, and another older man.

"Hello, I'm Tsunade." The girls nodded and Naruto nodded, but the rest of the boys were silent. Tsunade's smile faltered only slightly before she plopped them down into seats, each of them in a specific order.

Kai immediately flipped upside down, her head resting on the floor. She pulled the book out of her messenger bag, and opened it, her arms opening. They laid flat against the floor from hand to elbow, and the rest was elevated.

"Comfortable?" asked Tsunade stiffly. Kai smiled, looking downward- which would be up in her case- to see Tsunade glaring at her.

"Yep!" She chirped. Tsunade scowled, turning to stare at the rest of them. Shikamaru was draped across the arms once again, his eyes already closed. Naruto had propped his feet up on the table, and Gaara had pulled his feet up under him, squatting in his chair; his torso leaned against the back of the chair. Kankuro sat cross-legged, leaving only Kallou, Sakura, and Sasuke sitting like she liked her patients.

"I'm only going to ask this once. Don't test my patience, okay? Now I would appreciate it if you sat up properly." Tsunade spoke in a tight, pinched voice, her facial features tight and stiff. Naruto and Gaara wordlessly dropped into 'proper sitting formation' but Kankuro swore at her, and Kai sighed heavily.

All of them glared at Tsunade, firmly resolving not to piss her off, no matter what. This was the first time they'd had her for a session leader, save for Naruto, and they wanted their old ones back. "Alright," sighed Tsunade, her face relaxing.

"Around the circle, give your name. One fact about yourself."

Sasuke, who sat next to Tsunade, sighed heavily. "I'm Sasuke. I hate obnoxiously happy airheads." Naruto and Kiba bristled, their fists clenching angrily.

"Now, now. Stop that! He's entitled to his own opinion." Tsunade sighed, smoothing the ripples of unease.

"Kankuro," spat Kankuro, glaring at the floor. His face was contorted with discomfort as she stared at him. His shoulders were hunched over as he avoided her gaze.

"You have to give a fact about yourself," reminded Tsunade with a sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose exasperatedly. Her headache was brewing, and definitely growing worse by the second. She was having great trouble being professional today.

"No I don't. It's optional," Kankuro's brows drew together in confusion. He looked up at her, searching her face for explanation.

"When did I say that? Tell me when." snapped Tsunade, her eyes deadly.

"That's how it's always been!" replied Kankuro, his voice low and strained. He was getting defensive now, and it was taking all of his earthly charm and manners to keep from shouting at her and telling her what he really wanted to say.

"Do you want to spend the day in solitary? Give a fact and be done with it." growled Naruto, his anger suddenly bubbling over. Sasuke noticed the corner of Kankuro's eye twitch at the sound of the word 'solitary'.

"Hang on, hang on," murmured Tsunade. "I'm sorry that I'm in a terrible mood, but we're not going to throw you in solitary just for deciding not to comply, Naruto. Why on Earth would you think that?"

"Well... I know people who've been thrown in solitary for being rude to their group leader..." Tsunade frowned when Naruto's eyes flicked over to Danzo. "You and I can meet later and discuss this, okay? I do apologize to everyone, but I have a killer headache and it's really dragging me down."

"I have a penis. Whoopee," snapped Kankuro, helping to relieve the tension in the room. He made a big deal of jerking his hand towards Naruto. "Carry on, by all means."

"I'm Naruto. I'm manic-depressive. So, if I have mood swings and stuff, I'm sorry." Naruto exhaled, looking over to Sakura, waiting for her statements. He was nervous, but glad that Tsunade was going to have a talk with him.

"Sakura. I don't want to be here." Short and sweet, down to the point. Sakura let out her withheld breath, lowing her head. Her pink hair covered her eyes and she closed them for a moment.

"..." Sakura looked over when she heard nothing. Kallou was in a staring match with Tsunade, who knew that no matter how hard she stared, there would be no answer from her. Kallou was on a record streak- she was up to a week. All eyes were on her now, focused on the determination in her own silvery-gray orbs.

"All right. Danzo, can you escort Kallou back to her wing? It's obvious that she's not going to talk, and I can't deal with her right now. Tomorrow and then next day I would like her sent to the infirmary for a check up, and to make sure there's nothing wrong with her physically. Last time she was quiet for this long, there was a reason behind it," ordered Tsunade, rubbing at her temples. "I expect to hear from you during our next session, okay, Kallou? Even one word will be fine, but I do expect to hear from you."

Danzo shifted uncomfortably, and then nodded. He didn't like being alone with her. She'd once hit herself in the face until she was bruised and bleeding, and tried to pin it on him.

She remembered what she'd done to Danzo. He hated her for it, too.

But she'd won, and he couldn't take that away from her.

"Tsunade, if I may... Maybe today I can take over the group for you. I think in your state it might be better for you to just go get some rest, and allow yourself a break," offered Danzo, folding his hands calmly in his lap.

Tsunade mulled it over for a moment before nodding, her blond locks falling into her eyes as she did so. Danzo cleared his throat as she tucked a strand of it behind her left ear.

"It would be easier for me to operate if you were to give me a little alone time with them. That would make it much more... personal, and relaxed," requested Danzo, smiling a strained smile. Tsunade stood, blowing air out through her nose.

"Okay... please, just make sure to fill out a report. I'm going to go lay down before my next session."

Shikamaru promptly laid down again once the door behind her. Naruto propped his feet up, and Kai flipped her book back open. It was as though they were all on break again.

"What are you doing?" Danzo inquired, lifting an irritated brow. "Just because Tsunade has left does not mean that you are entitled to disobey me." He stood, and moved into the center of their circle, spinning around slowly as he looked at each of them. Kallou stretched out leisurely, daring him to reprimand her. Everyone else had returned to their designated seating positions. Danzo calmly walked over to her, and wrapped his hand around her arm, squeezing slightly as he moved her back into and upright sitting position. Kallou's eyes widened nervously, and she shoved his hand off of her.

"You are not funny, Kallou. I don't see anyone laughing." As Danzo continued to lecture her, Kallou flitted off to her happy place. it was a trick that most of them had learned long ago, and used to block out the pain and unpleasant things they didn't wish to deal with. There was a great anger building inside of her, and she let it grow. Some of them embraced the rage, and others quashed it down until they could no longer bottle it up and it exploded outward in one moment of intense rage.

"Kallou, if you're not going to participate, I'll need to take you to the infirmary," Danzo pointed out.

"I'll perform," snarled Kallou suddenly, rising up out her chair. "I'll cut your fucking dick off and shove it so far down your throat you'll choke!"

"Sit down! You will not speak to me that way!" ordered Danzo, pointing to her chair.

"You're worthless! I'll speak to you however I want! You'd like that wouldn't you, you fucking faggot! You'd love to be fucked up the ass by a goddamn cocksucker!" growled Kallou, slapping Danzo across the face.

Shikamaru's pupils widened, and he released his hold on reality. He was drifting on in a parody of his stoned world. He did crazy things when he was stoned, it was just the ways his body reacted. But, when he got scared or excited, his body reacted in a reverse way. He could experience the happy dream, and it would be only a dream. He was in stoner mode, a move he'd learned at the age of about fourteen, when he was getting bitched out by the school officials.

Shikmaru sighed, glad for once that he wasn't high. If he was high... Well, Danzo would be flying pretty damn low, that was all he knew. When he got high enough to pass out... things got-well, interesting.

Naruto stared at the floor, his eyes squinting as he repressed the feelings of shame. Shame for what he is, was, and would always be. He knew that he was a bitch who couldn't even let himself be who he really was for fear of others' reactions.

Sasuke. He was gone, his eyes closed in his own little reverie. He was floating along in his sky of peace, detached from his fears. He stared at each of the hits Danzo took, awestruck at how he could block out such obvious pain so easily.

Naruto winced when Kallou kneed him in the balls, and Sakura bit her lips, chewing at then nervously.

Kai nervously crouched in her chair, her feet drawn up under hear body, her arms wrapped around herself protectively.

Kiba was whimpering like a puppy, though only softly. Sakura glanced over once again to Kallou, and noticed that her eyes were glued to Kiba until she caught Sakura staring. She was hitting Danzo, and looking at Kiba.

Danzo was trying to separate himself from Kallou long enough to get over to the desk in the corner of the room. There was a panic button there, and he needed someone to get in there before Kallou could begin to hit herself and accuse him of such atrocities that had not occurred.

Kankuro and Gaaras' eyes moved in rapid succession, there faces growing stonier as their eyes flashed and jerked with a distressed fervor Sakura didn't understand. It looked like they were dreaming, but only with their eyes wide open. Sakura shivered at the thought of that- of the thought of her worst nightmares coming out during the daytime to haunt and taunt her.

Gaara's eyes were darting everywhere, as much as he tried to stop them. They were trapping him inside his body with the memories he couldn't help but replay. He didn't want to remember what he always and everyday repressed, but there was no stopping this.

"What are you doing? Stop it!" shouted Gaara, his fleshy, little boy arms covering his naked body as he tried to hide himself. His father smiled, his expression seeming to soften.

"It's okay, Gaara, I'm not going to hurt you! I love you..." Father squatted down next to Gaara, pulling the little boy close. Gaara hated it- he didn't want to be touched and his father knew that, yet he refused to leave him alone.

"Stop it!" whimpered Gaara, his tears flowing freely now. Father's hand rubbed his back, creating the illusion of care. It was just like his mother used to do when he was upset. Gaara softened, hopefully. Maybe this time...

Father's hand rubbed circles on his bare back, dipping lower. Gaara flinched, but his father stopped him from moving. This only made Gaara panic even more. His persuer pretended not to notice. "I love you, Gaara, you know that, don't you?" His uncle pulled back for an instant to look at Gaara, waiting for his nod.

"See? This is what people do when they love each other," smiled Father, kissing Gaara on the nose, as if Gaara was just being silly. Gaara gave him a wavering smile, and then tried to pull away. "No, no, Gaara. I'm going to show you how much I love you, because you don't seem to understand."

The demon of a man pulled him close again, and his smell filled Gaara's nostrils. He'd never get that smell out of his head- that naked, fleshy smell of man. The smell of stale, masculine, breath and the feeling of those hands… He didn't want to be loved this way, not now, not ever.

Afterward, his father would insult him, making him feel low, and unloved. He would point out flaws that didn't exist, and do anything he could to drag Gaara down. But, then, he would tell Gaara that he loved him anyway- even though no body else could ever love such a fuckup.

His brother would give him funny looks every now and again when Father hugged him, as if he knew. Gaara hadn't known then, but Kankuro had known.

Kankuro had gotten the worst of it, at least Kankuro assumed so, because Gaara looked more like his mother, and he'd been younger. He'd taken every effort possible to keep his father from touching Gaara. This put him on the receiving end of many a beating.

He knew that surely Father couldn't stand the thought of doing such a terrible thing to his sister, so in a way, Gaara had been off easy. Not that it mattered- their father had never really displayed love for him, also due to the fact that he looked like his dead mother. It was a bittersweet protection, but Kankuro would've done anything- and would still do anything to forget those nights. Gaara had heard them, even though they he was supposed to be asleep.

He'd slept very little after that. Even now when he closed his eyes, he could still hear the sounds. He'd felt bad, not being able to help, and he'd grow angrier and angrier, searching for a way to help his brother and himself. He never found one. They had both been in the same boat, without even knowing it- trying to end the nightmare, but their father... He was too strong for them to defeat on their own. Gaara looked more like him than Kankuro did, which Kankuro found a relief and a burden. Sticking up for Gaara was hard sometimes when he was so reminded of what he hated.

Gaara remembered the little gifts afterward, and the whispers of 'Good boy, Gaara' when it was over, and his stomach muscles wavered. Gaara could feel the bile and the contents of his lunch building up, but he pushed them down. It was fading... unsteadily- but surely.

Gaara's eyes seemed to haze out a little bit, and then he was launched back forward as if by a rubber band. He was in a cold sweat, his hairline damp with perspiration. His chest was heaving, and he could feel a dull pain in his hands. One hand was dug into the fabric of the chair so hard that he'd cracked his fingernails, and blood was leaking out of underneath his nail. Gaara looked to his other hand, focusing on not seeing the blood that got him so excited, and gasped slightly to see that Kankuro's hand was clenched so tightly around his wrist that he had cut the circulation off. Gaara's hand was turning white, his fingers numb and unable to move beneath the vice grip Kankuro had in place.

Shikamaru was the only one to deduce, with actual certainty, that they were experiencing violent flashbacks. He could only presume that the very actions and things in those flashbacks were what had set them on such a road that led them here, but there was no undoing it, and in his opinion, nothing to be done about it. So why worry?

Danzo had finally reached the desk, and punched the button. He was too busy trying to keep Kallou from punching him in the face too notice that Gaara and Kankuro were having episodes.

Kiba had scooted his large chair away from Gaara, fearing a violent outburst that could result in bodily harm on his part. He'd been around Gaara and his brother long enough to know that when they got all glassy-eyed shit was not looking good. He may not have seen Gaara and Kankuro go at it very much, but he had heard enough to know that you'd better get away. He could see that Kankuro's head was lowered, and a trickle of sweat was working its way down his cheek.

Kankuro's sister, who was the one to tell the doctors what had happened to the boys, didn't even know exactly what had happened to them. The doctors only knew what Temari had told them, which wasn't much because they had refused to go into detail.

They were flashes and flickers of images at first, but the harder that he tried to repress them, the more vividly and rapidly they came together. The hideous video fit together in his mind; pixelated at first, it soon morphed into an HD quality masterpiece of hurt and wrongdoing. He'd never looked at anyone the same after that never let anyone close enough to hurt him again. He'd hardened his body so no one could ever get that far, ever tear his world to pieces as Father had.

He closed his eyes, his heart racing as his air came in swift, spastic convulsions. It would be over soon... That was all he could hope for, because it was going to come no matter what.

He was laying on his bed, sleeping. He remembered that the first time he'd been wearing his favorite pajamas, the ones with the little racecars all over them. They were thin, because it was always hot where they'd lived. Kankuro shuddered as he remembered the sticky feeling of his father's skin, and the sweaty smell that he associated with him.

His father had opened his door, and plopped down almost conversationally on his bed. Kankuro could still remember the confusion he'd felt as to why he was in his room, when he always slept upstairs in his own. His dad had been working late, as always. He couldn't remember what had ever happened that caused his father to start coming in to see when he got home from work and even before tucking them into bed when he was home, but rather remembered it just happening.

"Are you hot, buddy?" his father whispered before throwing the sheets back. Kankuro shrugged, sitting up.

"What's the matter, Daddy?" asked Kankuro in a whisper. He didn't know why he was whispering, but it seemed appropriate. Something about the way the man he'd known all his life was moving made it seem like he was there to share a secret, as if he wasn't meant to be there.

"Nothing. Everything's fine, Kankuro," soothed Father. Kankuro flopped back onto his mattress, relieved for a moment. He'd thought something bad had happened.

"Well... what did you wake me up for?" He yawned, stretching his arms groggily. .

"I never said goodnight- when you love someone very much, you always say goodnight!" laughed Father, holding his arms out for a hug. Kankuro uncertainly leaned into the hug, wrapping his little arms around his father's torso.

"Okay, uh, goodnight, Daddy," sighed Kankuro, trying to pull away. "Ok, I'll give you another hug..." He remembered scowling, and wishing that he could get back to the dream he'd been having. He couldn't recall it now for the life of him, but he'd remembered imagining himself there later.

"Alright, Dad! Let go!" Kankuro struggled against his father's arms, laughing awkwardly when he didn't let go. He froze when his father kissed his neck. "What the heck-"

"I love you, Kankuro." Father leaned back, pulling off his shirt. Kankuro opened his mouth to protest- do something! A hand covered his mouth. "If you yell, I'll cut your little toes and fingers off before you can say ouch." Any promise of love, or being gentle was gone now, and Kankuro's eyes wavered with unshed tears. He wasn't one to cry so easily.

Kankuro had cried though, when Father had forced himself where he didn't belong. His father shoved his underwear in Kankuro's mouth after that, possibly the worst insult he could've given. There was next to no preparation for what he'd done, and Kankuro could remember the feeling of being violated in more ways than one, and the smell of him, and even the sound of him. He could remember the pain, and the wanting to throw up, and the insane rage that stemmed from how helpless it all had made him feel.

He didn't know anymore who he'd been more mad at- himself for letting it happen so often after that, or his father for doing it. He could've called for help, or even ran away but he hadn't. All he knew now was that it didn't matter anymore. His father had tried to make nice with him, and coax him into it- he'd seen the way Kankuro closed off after that. His father, fearing that someone-anyone-would notice, showered the boys and Temari with gifts constantly. Temari was safe from him, oddly enough for the fact that she was a girl.

Kankuro's body tingled at the thought of it having been his older sister- after more than two years of it- to be the one to end it all. He remembered his twelfth birthday, and her walking in that night. She'd lost the present she was going to give him, and was planning on giving it to him in the morning. But when she heard his muffled screams, she charged in to see what was wrong.

Kankuro was coming back into himself now, the visions fading, though screenshots of it still flashed before his eyes. He wondered to himself if Temari ever had nightmares about that- wondered if she had them as frequently as he did. He felt spent, as if he'd just run a marathon. His muscles were weak, and he found himself unable to move anymore than slightly. His vision swam in and out of focus, and yet he looked around, still.

Their inner turmoil, that had seemed to last a lifetime, had in truth, only lasted a manner of minutes. Their breathing was still tenuous, and cautious as if their lungs were afraid the air couldn't possibly save them. Air. Air wasn't saving them- it was keeping them alive, torturing them with its gift.

Gifts- sometimes good, sometimes bad. It's not the quality of the gift, or even who gives them- but rather the message behind the gift. There's the "I'm sorry" gift that a husband may give to his wife after a particularly bad fight. The "I'm so glad I met you" gift of a wedding ring to a lover, and the "Let's be friends" gift that a small child may give to another at gift of life for instance- childbirth is beautiful; bringing another being into the world- but being kept alive for the sheer will of someone else is another thing entirely. Not really a gift at all- yet, oddly, it still has that little word clinging to it. Gift. Life is bittersweet, full of its words and twisted meanings... Sometimes, sick and demented things are only half as twisted as their makers.

**Author's Note- ICK! I'm sorry to write something so disgusting and wrong, but it is done, and I did NOT put myself through that at once.**

**You can review at your own discretion now. :P I appreciate them, but you guys review so quick, lol! I was intending it to be different, but I'll just settle for the reviews that you want to give. :) As a VERY smart reviewer- *COUGH!* Annabelinda *cough!* reminded me to write from the heart, and for the sake of writing, so I am. :)**

**But seriously- tell me what you thought. I feel like I should take a shower- and now in the good dirty way either, you pervs! :P :( Child abuse is not okay! That's where most of the world's serial killers/rapists come from, you know! :P When in doubt- shout! Scream no and go! - Safety rules to live by, people!**

**Edited; October 24, 2012**


	4. Stuck with These Assholes

GAARA STARED AT the ceiling, avoiding the hazy bits and pieces of conversation, and the oddly comforting hum of the TV loud in his ears. He was in his room, a stress ball in hand as he lie on his bed. He tossed the stress ball up and down, idly catching it and throwing it back up again. His eye sight was glazed over with boredom, the medicine that coursed through his veins making him sluggish. The drugs didn't calm him down at all, but made him appear calm. They only slowed his body down, something that he very much loathed. He'd been having a bad morning, so the nurse had given him a shot of a strong sedative.

Gaara sighed, rolling over on his side. He was on the top bunk, an experience he hadn't had in a while. He was more of a crash into the single bed, or lower bunk kind of guy. The drugs and his insomnia wore him out so much that crawling onto the top bunk on a daily basis was highly unethical.

There was the bunk bed, and then another single bed in his room. Kankuro was curled up on the couch in the 'living room', watching TV. Gaara never argued or even yelled at his brother for blasting the sound, because he knew it helped him forget. He wouldn't take away the things that made his brother function better, but he'd sure as hell get back at him for anything that made things more difficult for him. Kankuro didn't know Gaara as well as he thought he did, but Gaara knew Kankuro better than Kankuro knew himself. Sometimes it was amusing to see him go through life as though each day he was making his own decisions. He was unpredictable to everyone but Gaara. Kankuro would always choose the unexpected option that he thought no one would suspect. Gaara expected the unexpected.

Kankuro would never move out of his room, because he was too afraid of what Gaara would do to the other roommate. The last thing he wanted was blood shed that didn't serve a purpose. Even though Kankuro would dole out regular beat downs, leaving others bruised, bloodied, and broken, there was a purpose behind that. Gaara didn't know the purpose for it, but he knew that for his brother to shed someone else's blood, there was a purpose.

But there were some things about Kankuro that Gaara couldn't put his finger down on. He could laugh about the things someone said, even if he hated the person. He could be patient when Gaara expected him to be freaking out, and impatient when Gaara needed him at his calmest. It was frustrating to say the least. The one thing that Gaara could consistently expect of his brother was that Kankuro would always be inconsistent. Gaara's own life was like a breathing pattern, or a heartbeat. It was constant, ceaseless. Unentertaining for the most part, but even he could find humour in some things. He took in what little excitement came to him, and gave off the depleted miserable waste of carbon dioxide.

Gaara knew that no matter how long he lay there he wouldn't fall asleep. What did expect? He was an insomniac. He sighed, closing his eyes anyway. It was nice to pretend. He wanted to dream something happy, something that couldn't hurt him like all of his other dreams.

Gaara's stomach was concave with the careful lack of eating, but today he was hungry. It was early, though, not even breakfast time. His stomach itched at the thought of it, and he pressed the heel of his palm into his lower abdomen, rubbing in small, restrained circles. His stomach never seemed to outright growl at him- it would have been too loud. He was silent most of the time as a child, and through the fear of living with his faher he had managed to make him as quiet as possible.

Gaara remembered that when Kankuro had used to go to sleepovers he would take him along as often as he could. Kankuro's friends were disturbed by Gaara's weird behaviour at first, but Kankuro told them that their live-in uncle beat Gaara. They would tell him to report it, but Kankuro quickly stopped their complaining by telling his friends that their father knew the right people, and that he'd never got caught or charged and things would get worse. Kankuro never told anyone what Father had done to him. He told Gaara that if he was to ever tell any of his friends, he would never take him with him again. That warning could have lasted Gaara a lifetime and he never would have told anyone. Why would he, anyway? He had long since prided himself on his strong emotional reserve, as well as the fact that he could speak for hours without giving one sliver of personal information about himself. He resolved to be silent, because it was easier than pretending to be happy.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"AH, WELCOME TO our second session," smiled Danzo. He seemed to have forgotten all about Kallou's rotten behaviour from the day previous, and was now acting calmly and rationally. Kallou had been sent to solitary as a result of her actions- beating your group leader was a serious offense- and everyone else knew to sit properly in their chairs.

Kankuro's eyes were sharply following his movements, trying to find a "tell." For all he knew, Danzo could be lying about something. For some reason, he just didn't trust the guy. It could be his deep-rooted dislike of male authority figures, but who knows.

"I would like to try a small exercise with you all today. I want to go around the circle, and have each of you give two facts about yourself. The only things is- it can't be the same answer that you gave to Tsunade yesterday," smiled Danzo. "I know that you are a relatively knew wing, so this is a little exercise to help you all get to know each other better."

"What if I don't want to get to know anyone better?" Kankuro asked in a monotone voice.

"Then you don't have to pay attention! But, everyone else is going to learn just a little bit about you today. It doesn't have to be wildly personal, but something that makes you- you. All I ask is that when it's your turn, you are ready to share. If you don't know what to share, that's okay! We'll wait for you to think of something," complied Danzo, his wrinkled old face pleasantly serious. "I notice that you are not in the same order today- that's okay! We'll go in whatever order is easiest."

They were seated in a small circle, the recliners all angled so that they could better see Danzo. To the left of Danzo in this order was Naruto, Sakura, Gaara, Kankuro, Kai, Shikamaru, Sasuke, and finally Kiba. The chair to the other side of Danzo was brazenly empty, reminding them all that Kallou was not in their presence.

Naruto took a small breath, holding it is as he deliberated momentarily. The breath came out in a woosh of words. "I like ramen, and I love to play board games." Naruto smiled proudly, secretly glad that he hadn't disclosed anything that could be used against him. He had once admitted in a meeting that he had worn lipstick once, and was forever mocked by his wing for it. He'd gotten in a lot of fights then.

Sakura bit her lip as she thought, her eyes rolling up to the ceiling as she mentally processed what she'd like to share. "I'm thinking! I just... Can we, like, skip me? Then come back to me after I think for a while?"

"Oh, we'll wait. We have all session. It's no rush," Danzo smiled, his voice oddly unsettling to Sakura. He gave Sakura the creeps, and the only thing she could think of to say wasn't very positive.

She didn't know why she gave such an exuberant answer, but it just came out. "Well, my boyfriend cheated on me, and my sister died in the same day. Happy?" She glared with all of her might at Danzo, and Naruto could only be impressed by the way that Sakura glared at him- her glare had magnified itself at least six fold in the time that she had spent at the institution.

"Well, I'm delighted that you've shared your two facts," offered Danzo, his pulling back to reveal a warped, is creepy smile. It was his teeth. That was what was so incredibly creepy!

"One- I think you're an asshole. Two, this whole fucking thing is pointless," murmured Gaara, raising his brows in light challenge. His lips pulled back in a satisfied sneer as his brother followed suit, just as he thought he would. That was one thing he knew he could depend on.

"I think that when Danzo was younger someone shoved a stick up his ass. He's never been the same since," mused Kankuro. Sakura smiled, once again enjoying the deep, gravely quality of Kankuro's voice. She very much enjoyed Gaara's as well. It was a deep, smooth tenor. It went down to a bass pitch when he was angry, and she couldn't help but admire the sheer sexiness his voice held.

"Maybe he's compensating for something. I know a few gays guys. They wouldn't touch him," chuckled Kai, her face lighting up with amusement. Danzo reddened angrily, shifting his weight to the other side of his seat."

"Can we please continue around the circle? I will share my two facts when we get back to me, okay?" Danzo asked stiffly, his eyes watering slightly. Naruto felt kind of bad for the guy. "I believe, um... Shikamaru is next?"

"I like pills. Sleeping pills, preferably, but uppers are nice, too, " drawled Shikamaru, a wide grin growing on his face. "There's no feeling in the world that compares..." Shikamaru closed his eyes, imagining that he was high again.

"Thank you gor that exuberant, and... illuminating insight..." Danzo said uncomfortably, his eyes darting around the room. "Sasuke, would you like to- ?"

"I hate Naruto. He drives me bat-shit and makes me want to tear his intestines out and parade around in them, pretending they're a necklace," snarled Sasuke, shooting Naruto a strong look of loathing. Naruto's fists clenched in responsive anger. He bared his sharp, white teeth, and Sasuke licked his lips. What an odd response.

Kiba cleared his throat, and it sounded like a growl. Naruto and Sasuke looked over, forgetting that they were in a room full of people. "I like puppies, and people who are like puppies. Or dogs," Kiba smiled, and stood up. "We're done now!"

"Kiba, we still have another ten minutes. Please sit down," Danzo asked, his voice steely and hard.

"But-"

"Sit down, Kiba," snapped Danzo, his cool demeanor vanishing. "No wonder Tsunade-" Danzo broke off, and lowered his eyes. "All right, look- I'd like to give you a challenge."

Naruto moaned deeply, and covered his face with his hands. "I hate challenges!"

"Shut up, Naruto!" snapped Sasuke, glaring daggers through Naruto's hands.

"Moron." muttered Sasuke, smacking a hand to his face. "Don't do anything stupid, Naruto!"

"Sasuke, since you are so ready to correct others, you can go first. Your challenge is to ask a question, but not in question form." Danzo smiled. "Pretty ingenius, huh?"

"That's a fucking word for it," growled Sasuke, flipping his hair. "Gaara, you've been here for more than five years. Should I be wrong, correct me."

Gaara nodded curtly his eyes cold and calculating. "Kankuro," his brother's face snapped to attention, his brown eyes searching Gaara's face questioningly. "You're scared that you'll mess this up."

"I am not!" snapped Kankuro. Then he bit his lip, looking around the circle with a decidedly brave expression. "Shikamaru. You're a genius, but you pop pills because... you don't like the stereotype that runs with people who are really smart." There was a questioning lilt to his voice, but it was a statement so he was safe from the auditory technicality.

"How observant, Kankuro," snorted Shikamaru, lifting his head off of his palm. "Kai, I think you are very nervous about something, but you don't even know what it is."

Kai's eyes widened momentarily, and she stared at Shikamaru with surprise. How had he known that? She wasn't even sure of what the feeling in the pit of her stomach was! She glanced over to Naruto, her brain alread trying to come up with a question.

"Naruto, I don't know how to say this... but... You're like me, even though you're different in your way. I think you're... You have ADHD, too, in addition to your manic-depressiveness." Kai smiled brightly, proud of herself for not messing up the question. She didn't understand the point of it at all, but at least they only had a few minutes left. It was entertaining, sort of.

Naruto nodded, not bothering to elaborate. "Kiba, I don't get why you think you're a dog." Naruto beamed, having already prepared the question. He was glad that no one had beaten him to it.

"Because... I've always been a dog! My mom think she's a dog, too, ya know!" Kiba remarked, as if that were the simplest thing in the world to understand. "Sakura, you came here because you killed someone."

There was a collective murmuring as this was debated. Sakura could only stare at Kiba in shock, wondering how he knew that. She'd forgotten that he was basically asking her if that was why she was there. She gulped, and wondered if she looked as hot as felt.

"Yeah... how did... but- !"

"Sakura, we're not asking questions right now, okay?" reminded Danzo, his teeth once again giving her wicked chills when he beamed his crusty old man smile.

"You heard that from someone, but not me." Sakura said slowly. Kiba nodded, his eyes averted. Sakura gulped in a breath of air, and exhaled through her nose. That always seemed to calm her down somewhat.

"Okay, that's it for the day. I would like to tell you that you won't be seeing me tomorrow. I don't think that my methods are going to help you very much. I'd love to stay and play these games with you to see what your answer would be, but as I said, I don't think you all are getting anything out of them. I'm more of a child psychologist, you see," Danzo beamed, and then sighed sadly. "I'm sorry to leave you so abruptly. You're free to head to the library now, all right?"

Some of them murmured goodbye as they left, but most of them just left for the library. It was the one public place where they could really relax and be at ease.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

GAARA SIGHED SOFTLY, his finger hooked under the edge of a page. He'd been slacking off. Usually, whenever someone joined the group, his initiation wasn't nearly as pleasant as the one Sakura had gotten. He had been preoccupied with his own thoughts, and the twisted revelations of his past. It took too much energy for him to forget- it didn't leave much else left over for anything other than that.

Sakura glanced over at him, hearing his sigh, and then looked away before she could be caught. They didn't have very much time left, so she hurried off to find a book. She still had the huge pile of books from Kai to read, but she was in the mood for a book she had picked out. She didn't know why, but she felt that it would be better if she picked them out. Sakura knew she was probably just trying to grasp some sort of control in a place like this where she had none.

The sounds from the other patients in the institution was relatively quiet- the walls and doors to their room blocked out most of the sound, because they were thick metal, and many portions of the hospital were soundproofed. Usually it was just the sections that were prone to the screamers, but the hospital was old and the soundproofing wasn't done very well. But, she could pick out the sounds and voices of other patients from upstairs. There was shouting sometimes, and other times there was the loud thump of feet shuffling across the floor. These sounds stuck with her, clogging her ears and pulling her back into herself. She felt like she was cloaked in insanity- like the hospital was rubbing off on her.

When she was a child, her and Ino's room had been downstairs, and her parents were on the top floor. Some nights her father would come home drunk or high, and attack their mother. In all honesty, her mother hadn't been perfect. She was a flighty creature- her infidelities were what had led her father to drink in the first place. She hadn't known then of her mother's unfaithfulness, because a little girl was supposed to love her mother, and her father was too prideful a man to let her know such a thing at a young age.

Sakura didn't know for sure, but she had a feeling that that- her family history- was why Sai cheating on her had had such an effect on her. She was used to her sister stealing her boyfriends, but... she never thought that she would do that with Sai- Ino knew how much she loved Sai! Christ, they were only eighteen and they'd moved in with each other! Her parent hadn't cared- at least Sakura had a stable relationship, whereas Ino just slept her way through the senior class.

Sakura sighed, rolling over on her bed as the cool air filtered in through the open window. The windows could be opened all the way, because there were thick bars covering the open space in the frames.

The air was fresh and crisp. The leaves outside were slowly turning colors and she didn't mind that winter was coming. It was her second favorite time of favorite was spring, the time of rebirth. It seemed to her that she was being born again, growing into a hardened child. The people here were hardly ever adult, at least the ones she was associated with. Some of them- like Kai and Naruto- tended to revert to their child like tendencies and states of mind when challenged with something that caused them to feel stressed or worried. But they always seemed to bounce back, and that was something she could rely on.

Gaara and Kankuro, they were like the black sheep of the little 'family.' They were the sadistic ones- they were the ones that were generally feared of the group. It looked to her that the others were just the ones that couldn't be handled by administration. She hadn't seen all of them throw fits, but the ones she had seen... they were definitely a challenge. She'd seen Kankuro and Gaara get into a fight more than once, and it amazed her how someone so small as Gaara could pin his older, bigger, presumably stronger brother.

There was something about him that seemed to radiate danger, even with his back was turned. It terrified her. But... it intrigued her as well. Her curious side always won over with these sorts of things. She couldn't help but wonder what on Earth had transpired to make him so mean. She had her heart set on finding out, and she knew that it didn't matter if he tried to hurt her- what did she have to lose anyway? They both fought for keeps, so she might as well make it interesting. She was going to fight to worm her way in with all she was worth. And then... well who knows. But, just as much as she wanted those answers, she knew that it was the allure of the challenge that intrigued her as well.

"Look, look! It's almost my birthday!" squealed Kai, jumping up and down. Then she faltered. "Well fuck. If I'm in here, it's going to be pretty boring, huh?"

"When is yours?" asked Naruto checking the calender and making down his own. "I'll mark it down."

" 'Tober Tenth," smiled Kai, pumping up the volume of the music that she was listening to. A pounding base erupted from the drums, making Kallou jump.

"Hey! That's mine!" remarked Naruto with a laugh.

"Birthday buddies!" laughed Kai, highfiving him. Naruto's face was lit up light a candle, and he couldn't help but be chipper. He'd never room with anyone who had the same birthday as him!

"I'll make you a painting, okay Naruto?" laughed Kai. "But, I'm not painting your damn porn." Naruto wrinkled his nose, sighing.

"I'm a bit sick of porn to be honest. They don't have any more good porn left." Naruto sourly stuck out his tongue. Kiba had looked up interestedly at the word porn, though the girls shot him dirty looks.

"Perv!" Horn-dog!" "..." Of course, Kallou hadn't said anything in days either. But, Kai had heard her speak before, but only when she'd woken up one night, and wandered out into the living room to ask where her kitty was, even though she obviously didn't have a kitty. No pets were allowed here.

Personally, Kai didn't want her to talk- at least not to people other than her. Kallou knew a good bit of her secrets, and she'd be damned if anyone told her deepest secrets. Kallou wouldn't be alive much longer after she told anyone Kai's secrets- at least if she told her secrets without her permission.

Kai plopped down on the couch in between Kiba and Kankuro. She pulled her legs up under her, and leaned her head back. She was so very tired...but she was damn restless as well. She couldn't stand to sit still long enough to rest. Her heart thundered in her chest, racing in her ears. Why did she feel sick all of a sudden?

"I don't feel good. I'm going back to bed," she murmured, stalking off to her room. She was still in her pajamas- old red boxer shorts that literally had 'Naughty' written all over them, and a loose, black tank top. She wrapped her lime green hoodie tighter around her self, shivering as she walked. Kiba and Kankuro gave each other a confused glance, and then shrugged. Not their problem.

"Uhn... I think I'm Pms-ing," groaned Kai, wandering past Kallou and

Sakura on the way to her room. "What's the date?"

"Um... Like, twenty fifth of August," offered Naruto.

"Naruto? Uhm, doesn't that gross you out?" asked Kai, slightly taken aback.

"Nah. It's human- blood is blood. And you do what you gotta do, you know?" reassured Naruto. Kai smiled at his answer, nodding.

"Thanks, Naruto! You hear that, you testosterone overloaded fruit-loops! Naruto's a gentleman!" The boys looked at her like she'd lost what little bit of sanity she seemed to have left. "What! You're just jealous, because... because- god! Your face!"

"B-But- What! That doesn't even make sense!" sputtered Kiba, clasping his head in his hands.

"Your face doesn't make sense!" Kai let out a somewhat muted scream of frustration and stomped off to her room, a hand clasped tightly to her aching forehead.

"What the hell is her problem? P-m-s much?" muttered Kankuro, even though he had no idea that she actually was pms-ing. That earned him a sharp whack to the head from Sakura, though he couldn't argue that he didn't deserve it. Gaara stared stonily at the TV, unsure of what he was doing today. Today was a free day, and they were allowed to roam around the Institution, and even go outside.

"Hey, do you guys want to play some games later?" asked Sakura carefully. She was going to start a war.

"What kind of games?" smirked Kankuro, waggling his eye brows suggestively.

"Fun on es. Like... truth or dare? Failure to comply with a task result in the removal of an item of clothing." smiled Sakura, knowing Kankuro would be up for it. Kai and Kallou needed the fun, and that she could bring it to them.

"I'm in!" confirmed Kankuro and Kiba immediately. They were unabashedly all for nodded, smiling one of the first real smiles that Sakura had seen from her.

Sakura popped her into Shikamaru's room, startling him from his relatively pleasant dreams. "Shikamaru! You up for Truth or Dare tonight?"

"What a fucking drag. Why the hell would I do that?" groaned Shikamaru, opening a single eye to look at her. He yawned loudly, and Sakura noticed that his hair, which was usually up in a bottle-brushy pony-tail was now hanging loose around his face.

"Because. A failed truth or dare means that whoever lost has to remove a piece of clothing. You'll get to see some boobies!" Shikamaru scowled, grabbing his pillow and pressing it over his face. "Please, Shika? Don't you want-"

"Fine! Now get the fuck out!" snapped Shikamaru. He hurled the pillow at her, and Sakura giggled, shutting the door. The pillow thumped against the door with a bang, and Shikamaru cursed loud enough for her to hear.

"Gaara? You playing?" She asked steadily. Gaara turned to look at her, his eyes narrowed. His eyes clearly read "Don't fuck with me, or I'll fuck you over. And over."

Sakura laughed. "Yup." Gaara scowled, shooting her a heavy glare that whipped the smile off her face. "Jesus, bitch much?"

Sakura stalked off to her room, throwing herself onto the bottom bunk. What was with these people? The idea of fun seemed to piss them off! Sakura grimaced, pressing her pillow to her face. She wondered if she pressed hard enough if she could squish all the air from her body, and she wouldn't have to live with these infuriating people anymore. Death was preferable.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SAKURA'S EYES WEREfocused on her book when she felt the sharp tug on her ponytail. She spun around expectantly, surprised to see that no one was there. Her brows drew together, and she frowned figuring someone was playing tricks on her.

She glanced over to Kai, who slept almost fretfully on the other half of the 'L' shaped couch, her expression pained. Kallou rolled her eyes and flung a pillow at her for the umpteenth time, waking her from her sleep with a smack to the head. Kai jerked awake, looking frantically around trying to remember where she was.

"Wha-?"

"Nothing. Go back to sleep. Nightmare." Sakura sighed, looking up from her book to see Kai roll over onto her belly.

"Mm... Thank-ou." murmured Kai, plopping her face back down to the soft fleece of her favorite pillow. It was really her little brother's pillow, but she'd taken it from him years ago, and had never left it, or forgotten it anywhere. It reminded her of home, and she couldn't sleep without it- so she brought it everywhere. She'd had it for the better part of four years- about a month or so before she was put in the place.

Sakura flipped the page, sighing peacefully. This was the most at ease she'd felt she'd come to this place- or even in the last six months. Even before Sai had cheated on her, things had been kind of rocky. Her parents were getting divorced- she hadn't known whether to be relieved or frightened by that and so it had eaten at her. And there were multiple other circumstances, but she wasn't sure if they all lead up to her meltdown and if the last event was her undoing, or if it was a culmination of all the events leading up to her psychotic break.

She couldn't seem to wrap her mind around the fact that she was in a mental institution- it seemed to her more like one of the summer camps that she'd always wanted to go to as a child. Sometimes she would find herself writing a letter to her parents and telling them to tell Ino something interesting or fun about the place, and then she'd remember that there was no Ino anymore and she would be forced to rip the letter up.

Kallou was reading also, though she was reading a murder mystery and not a romance novel like Sakura was. Sakura was finally getting to the good part- the lovers were finally about to be united, and the deceiver was finally known for what they exposed.

"Aww, Kallou!" Kallou looked up, clearly only mildly interested. "They're finally together! Isn't that sweet!"

"How can you read that shit?" spat Kankuro, plopping down in the corner where the two halves met. Sakura and Kallou were to his right, and Kai to his left. "That's shit. My sister is always grumbling about love not being like that. I have a better chance of growing fantastic tits than she has of finding magical, gushy love." On the last few words, his voice went into a biased high-pitched imitation of a female's voice.

Kai blindly reached out to smack him, groaning as she buried her face deeper into the pillow.

"What's her deal? Isn't she supposed to be all peppy and happy?" asked Kankuro pulling his feet up under him.

Sakura and Kallou shrugged, feeling it unnecessary to share the fact that she was in fact pms-ing. Kai was in her one of loops where she could be either hyper, or extremely tired. At the moment, she was in the downswing, her energy levels unbearably low.

"Ohh!" laughed Kankuro. "That. Gawd, you should hear my sister whine about-" Kankuro paused, suddenly shutting off again. He wasn't used to living in such close quarters with people other than his brother. He was unaccustomed to it, and it threw him off. Kankuro wrapped his arms around himself, cupping his shoulders with his fingers to keep his hands in place. It looked like he was trying to hold himself together, but Sakura couldn't be sure.

"Whining's fun you fuck twat." grumbled Kai, not bothering to lift her head off the cushion. Kankuro snorted, only mildly impressed by her creative vocabulary. She had wicked swear combos, but he'd heard much worse.

Kankuro hummed idly as he flipped the TV on, settling on a horror movie. Kallou finished up the last of her book and then sighed, settling into a comfortable position to watch the movie.

"Don't- you can't eat me."

"Huh?" Kankuro, Sakura, and Kallou looked up with surprise.

"No! Bad chipmunks! Stop it Alvin! Ow! Don't nibble my toes!" Sakura and Kallou passed puzzled expressions between each other, unsure of what Kai was talking about.

"No! Wait! Don't eat Juno! No! Oh gawd, ewww!" Kai pressed her face against the side of the couch, swearing. "She's pregnant! Oh gawd- you sick rabid... fuck. You ate a child!"

Kankuro and Sakura snickered, bursting into laughter. Kankuro pulled Kai's hair, effectively waking her from the dream.

"Alvin!" Kai looked around worriedly, her eyes wide. Sakura and Kankuro's laughter deepened, reducing them to soundless giggles. Kallou was smiling, something she rarely did. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing!" lied Sakura, trying to conceal her laughter.

"Man, for a kid, you're a riot," snorted Kankuro.

"Kid? I'm not a kid! You're only like... a year older!"

"Yeah, a year and eight months." Kankuro yanked her pillow out from under her head, smacking her with it.

"Give it back, you idiot! It's mine!" Kai grabbed it back out of his hands, cradling it to her chest like a child. "It's special, you know? And besides, like eight months matter. You're still a moron."

"I am not! And what's so special about that ratty old thing anyway? My Dad wouldn't let us keep pillow for more than a year."

"Shut up! You two are idiots!" snarled Sakura, snapping her book shut.

"You're all idiots. So shut the fuck up." snapped Gaara, poking his head out of his room. "I'll never fall asleep if I don't get peace and quiet. And if I don't get peace and quiet- I'll kill the first person I see when I walk out into the hallway, and then you'll have to explain to Tsunade why it's your fault."

A bit of an ominous to end on, huh? :P Sorry it's been so long! I've been busy, and I- well my brother, finally got the computer at my Dad's working again! :DSo, anyway- I'm sorry i've taken forever. Also, if this chapter was crap, forgive me. :P I had to figure out how to get the story moving again. Props to Kallou for helping me out! :D Also, thanks to all my close friend readers, and just readers in general- I truly appreciate the support. ;)

Okay, so here ya go... I need your help... and here's how you do it!

1... 2...3! REVIEW PLEASE!

I'll hand out e-snacks! :) You know you love those little juice boxes and cookies from when you were five! :D

Lauren/Mellokai


	5. Truths, Dares, and Questions

"Okay, so here's the plan- we have to get into the kitchen if we're going to pull of truth or dare night," sighed Sakura.

The boys- excluding Gaara and Shikamaru, of course- all smiled, loving the challenge of breaking into somewhere. They got a kick out of it, and it was something that made them feel powerful and big in a place that tried to tell them were small and insignificant.

"Alright! Finally some action!" laughed Kiba, high-fiving Naruto. His brown eyes crackled with merriment.

"So..." thought Sasuke aloud. "We could break in through the sliding door, you know, the one that closes over the opening into the kitchen?"

"Or... we can just pick the lock to the door," laughed Kankuro. "Any of you girls got cards, or bobby pins- anything?"

"I've got bobby pins," sighed Kai, dropping her head drowsily into her palm. "While you're in there, get me some coffee or something. Anything to wake me up."

"Hon, this is going to be so much fun you won't need anything!" smiled Sakura, punching her playfully on the arm. Kai nodded, raising from the floor to get her bobby-pins.

"Shikamaru, we're going to need you on this one." Sasuke half-pleaded, half-demanded. His onyx eyes cast a meaningful tone on top of his careless words.

"Hn. What's in it for me?" Sighed Shikamaru, opening a skeptical eye.

"My pills are up for auction," announced Kai, plopping back down into the small circle. "Here. I've got a whole pack. By the way, if you see Tairu Opere-ta's room, would you steal me some Nair? I'm almost out."

"Ohh, me too!" agreed Sakura, and Kallou held out a hand in front of Shikamaru's face, waved it around, and then pointed to herself.

"Come on! Just Kai's pills? That's it? That's not good enough." Shikamaru crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at them each in

turn.

"Fine. You can have mine. For the week. That should be enough, right?" smiled Naruto. He hadn't been off his medicine in a long time, and he couldn't wait to be free again. The others in his wing weren't so excited.

"Deal, " smiled Shikamaru in satisfaction. He tilted his chin down. "Got the list?"

"Yup." Kai passed the list over to him, and Shikamaru's face contorted with disgust as he read what was on it.

"What the hell are you guys planning! Hot sauce... peanut butter and jelly, bread-whip cream!" There was more on the list, but the whip cream had thrown him off completely. "What ar-"

"Don't worry about it- just go get what we need, okay?" Sakura smacked him on the head, and then pushed him out the door. "Don't forget the Nair! Unless you like looking at hairy legs- by all means-"

"I get it! Shut the fuck up!" snapped Shikamaru. "How long do I have?"

"Twenty minutes. Be back here by eight, got it?" called out Sasuke, his hushed voice carrying through the hall.

Shikamaru nodded, and Sasuke shut the door to their wing. It was open today, which wasn't an everyday thing. Today was a free day- they got to do what the wanted as long as they were accounted for at all times. Sakura, Kai, and Kallou headed off for the gardens to take a break from the day.

The gardens connected to the woods that surrounded the Institution, but it was advised not to go out there. Even though the area around the institution was fenced in, the fenced in area was smaller than the actual woods that surrounded it. They were set far off from society, so even with the prospect of escape, it would be futile. The only result of escaping would be that of death from living without the necessary tools.

Sakura read her books while Kallou and Kai drew, each in their own style. Kai was more into realism, but Kallou did her own thing with her roses and vines.

They were going to start the night off with a game of Truth or Dare,

and some Would You Rather's as well. Kiddish stuff, but they didn't care. They had cards, but this was more fun that strip poker, it was a chance to actually get some information out of each other. Like where they all came from, their backgrounds, and how the hell they had gotten put into the South Wing.

When her watch beeped, Kallou stood up, not even notifying the others of her departure. Sakura and Kallou, being her primary 'friends'- as much as you can call a person who chooses not to speak to you- knew to listen for sounds of her movement when she wanted some sort of attention.

"Hey, Kallou!" When Sakura- or anyone for that matter- wanted Kallou's attention, all they had to do was ask.

Kallou turned to look at her, her silvery eyes questioning and curious.

"If we bring you a notebook, will you 'talk' to us tonight?" Sakura didn't know if it work, but she could try.

Kallou shrugged, and held out her hand, flat at first and then wavered it.

"Maybe?" asked Kai, her smile seeming to wake up her fatigue ridden features.

Kallou nodded, and then turned to walk ahead of them. Kai held out her fist to Sakura, who uncertainly stared at it. "Pound it, stupid. You know?" Kai tapped her knuckles lightly against each other, then held her knuckle out again. "Come on, don't leave me hanging!"

"Fine, here..." Sakura breathed, tapping knuckles with Kai. Kai beamed and then skipped off ahead. Sakura wondered absently what Kai would've done if she'd refused. Probably nothing, but Kai wasn't night and day like the others, and neither was Kallou. They were colorful, and surprising- they always kept her on her toes, and she wasn't sure if she could handle them at times, but then they surprised her and behaved, behaving nicely towards her. She had yet to figure them out, but being in here was like being locked in the closet full of puzzles when she was five. She'd fixed them all, laying out the pieces and fitting them together. She wished her life was that simple to piece together and fix- if only it were that simple. If only.

Shikamaru held up the pillow case of treasures as they walked through the door. Kai squealed, running forward to get her Nair, forgetting her fatigue. Tairu was obsessive compulsive, and shaved her whole body daily. She spent so much money on Nair and shaving creams, she'd lost her apartment, and wracked up tremendous debts- even going so far as to start robbing stores of their Nair and shaving products. Yes- insane.

"Whoop!" hollered Kai, tossing Sakura and Kallou their bottles. "You're amazing, Shikamaru! Now, if you don't mind, I'm off."

Kai danced off to her room, singing. "The less you wear, the more you need Nair!" Sakura and Kallou rolled their eyes, going off to remove their hair as well.

"You're welcome!" yelled Shikamaru.

"No, Shikamaru, you're welcome." smirked Sakura. "I"m betting hair legs aren't your thing, right?"

"Shut up! Go... shave, or whatever you do with that stuff." snapped Shikamaru, feigning ignorance.

"With pleasure," Sakura purred seductively. "We'll be thinking of you, Shikamaru."

She was just in time to see him blush a deep red, before she closed her door. She giggled flirtily, glad to see that all the boys were watching her. She missed the attention, and she had their interest for later.

* * *

"Gawd! That is so much better!" squealed Kai, who prided herself on smooth, soft legs. "Feel that, Sakura! It's... amazing!"

"How do you get your legs so smooth?" hissed Sakura, pulling her pant leg back down.

"Lotion- it makes your legs luminous!" Her voice was goofifyed on the last word, her eyes widening childishly.

"Give me some?" Sakura asked quickly, her words demanding, though her tone questioning.

"Yeah I got two bottles, so I guess you can use a little," smiled Kai, loping back to her room to grab her lotion. "It's got coco-butter!"

Sakura gratefully accepted the lotion, rubbing it quickly into her legs.

"Mmm.. that smells good."

"Yup. Ay! Kallou, want some?" Kai popped up to see if Kallou heard her. Kallou nodded, holding out her hands. Kai squirted some out of the bottle for her, and then sighed, waiting to see her reaction. When Kallou made a gesture for Kai to turn around, Kai frowned, jumping down from the bunk. She landed with a soft grunt, and then straightened stiffly.

"Fine." snapped Kai, brushing her hair, and throwing on another hospital jacket.

The girls were smart, having layered their clothing. They were each wearing two pairs of underwear and bras. They wore shorts underneath their pants, and had two tank-tops, and a hoodie on top of that. Each individual piece of clothing, save for the under garments, were a dull blue-gray colour. It had been proven that some of the vibrant colours startled some of the patients. So, dull and boring it was.

All of their normal clothing was off for laundry day- usually, free day was the day that all colorful clothes sent away to be washed. Since everyone was free to roam about and do as they pleased, it made sense to the staff to ensure that brightly coloured clothing shouldn't be an issue that they had to worry about. The hospital didn't have very much money, but they did try to ensure that the clothing they had in stock was at least comfortable.

"Alright, well, are you ready?" Sakura asked brightly, letting her hair down. Kai shrugged, and Kallou held up her note book and pen with a timid smile. Kai rolled her eyes, pushing the door open and stomping out.

Kallou frowned, and Sakura sighed."What's up with her?"

She waited for Kallou to scribble down her answer. 'Didn't let her see my legs. She thinks I don't trust her.'

"Why not? The guys are going to see them anyway!" laughed Sakura.

'No they won't. I don't turn down dares.' Sakura snorted at this answer, rolling her eyes as well. She was beginning to grow slightly frustrated.

"Yeah you will. Kai and I have thought up some nasty stuff- imagine what the boys will've thought of." Kallou narrowed her eyes worriedly, and Sakura sighed. "Oh well. Look- I'll tell Kai to take it easy, kay?"

'Alright.' Kallou made a little face sticking its tongue out. '=p' Sakura smiled tightly, and moved through the door, not waiting for Kallou to follow her.

"Okay. So, I'll spin the bottle, and whoever it lands on picks a truth or dare, and then I pick from that. 'Kay?" Sakura's hand rested on the plastic Coke bottle, and she smiled at the various verbal affirmations.

"Here we go..." Sakura twisted her hand, releasing her fingers after the twist. The bottle spun round and round, finally landing on Shikamaru. "Okay... truth or dare?"

Sakura didn't really know what kind of dare she was going to pull off with him- he'd be more apt to lose it out of sheer laziness.

"Truth." Sakura frowned, but was secretly relieved she didn't have to dare him to do anything- she had no desire to see him in the buff. She didn't really have any desire to see any of the boys undressed for the simple fact that she was still getting over Sai and had honestly never thought of any of them in such a manner. Then again, maybe seeing some hot males in the buff would get her over sigh- and quick. Until now, of course. But, she pushed the thoughts aside, focusing in the task at hand.

"Okay... Um..." Sakura raked her brain, embarrassed to be suddenly devoid of any drilling questions. "Favorite chick flick?"

"Errr..." Shikamaru cast his eyes downward at the mocking smiles the guys were giving him. "Uh..."

"Come on, Shikamaru!" laughed Naruto, nudging him. "I didn't give up a weeks worth of pills to see you flatline."

"Shut up! Gah! So troublesome..." Shikamaru looked up, glaring in

Sakura's direction. "You're a pain in the ass, you know that?"

"Yes. Now answer the question, Shikamaru," smiled Sakura.

"Alright... Titanic." Shikamaru closed his eyes, and ducked his head. He didn't want to have to see their reaction.

"Pussy!" laughed Kankuro, hurling the bottle at Shikamaru. Kiba smirked when it glanced off Shikamaru's brow, leaving a slight red mark. Shikamaru grabbed the bottle, and was preparing to fling it back at his canine-wanna be friend.

"Cut it out! Liking a chick flick isn't the end of the world, you tool!" snapped Naruto, snatching the bottle back from his sleep. He grunted, flinging the bottle back twice as hard. Kankuro's laughter ended abruptly, wondering what the hell was up with Naruto. He had yet to experience one of Naruto's abrupt rages.

"Thanks, Naruto," grumbled Shikamaru, reaching out to spin the bottle that Kankuro had set back down. "You know what? How about we just pick who we want to do our little dares?" Sakura shrugged, and Shikamaru smiled.

"Okay- Kankuro. Truth or dare?"

Kankuro scowled, wishing he hadn't opened his mouth. But, he wouldn't take the easy road out- no. "Dare..." he sighed, dropping his face into his hands.

"Alright. I dare you to let one of the girls kick you in the nuts," laughed Shikamaru.

"Oh, come on!" snapped Kankuro, lifting his head up anrily. "Hell no!"

"Remove an item of clothing, then," laughed Naruto, his eyes flashing. Kankuro grimaced, yanking off his sweatshirt. He was wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt underneath.

"You guys are fucking assholes," he spat, flinging it into the middle of the circle.

"Alright. My turn." Kankuro smiled, his eyes crinkling in the process. It wasn't a happy twinkle, but a dark, sinister glare.

"Naruto. Truth or Dare?" Kankuro watched as Naruto debated momentarily.

"Tr- no, dare!" Kankuro smiled brilliantly at Naruto's answer, laughing deviously. He was going to get a kick out of this!

"The girls are going to paint your toenails, and you have to leave your shoes and socks off for the rest of the game."

Naruto frowned, gulping. The girls squealed, each running off to their stash of nail polish. There were many debates as to which color was to be chosen, until Kai squealed. "Oh! My Disco Fever! It's perfect!"

Sakura giggled and Kallou smiled. They jogged out of their rooms, polish hid behind their backs. They couldn't wait to take off his socks, and paint his toenails with the brightest colours that they could find.

"Ok, off with those socks, mister!" Kai spoke in high voice, as if imitating someone talking to a baby. "We're going to have fun!"

Naruto slowly pulled off his shoes and socks, not bothering to cover his toes, knowing that they would see them anyway. The other guys faces contorted, and he groaned. He wanted to crawl back to his room and hide.

"Does this mean he loses the dare?" asked Kai slowly, tilting her head with confusion. Naruto had already painted his toenails a pale, sparkly pink. " I mean... wow."

"So, I like to paint my toes," shrugged Naruto sheepishly, his cheeks pink. "What's the big deal?"

".. it means you're gay," snapped Sasuke, folding his feet up underneath himself. He was in turmoil over the way he was acting, but he figured it was easier to be an asshole than be understanding.

"Nuh-uh!" retorted Naruto, punching out at Sasuke, "Maybe you are, fagot!" (A/n: I don't usually do Yaoi or anything, but... Don't hate me, because this is how people usually react to this stuff. :P)

"You guys, just shut up!" groaned Kai, her hands over her ears. "Am I painting his toes or not?"

"No..." sighed Kankuro, though a smile clung to his lips. "But I think was worse, don't you think so?"

There was a rather uncomfortable silence, and then Naruto sighed, holding up his hand. "Okay. Sakura! Truth or dare?"

"Truth," smirked Sakura with a triumphant laugh. She had no qualms sharing information about herself. What did she have to hide, anyway?

"Okay, fair enough," smiled Naruto. "Have you ever cheated on your boyfriend? Ever?"

"No! Never," spat Sakura crossing her arms over her chest. She was proud of that fact, but also bitterly reminded of her sister's previous infidelities with her boyfriends.

"Sakura, dare me or something. It's extremely hot." groaned Kai, pulling at her hoodie. "Seriously. Ask me my name, anything. "

"Um, okay, truth or dare," Sakura asked slowly, a bit ticked off at Kai for giving away the fact that they were all double-layered in their clothing.

"Either or," panted Kai, pulling her shoulder-length brown hair back into a pony-tail.

"Name," demanded Sakura, brushing her own pink tresses out of her eyes. She needed a haircut. She was tired of having such an ugly hair-do. It was honestly a hair-don't by now.

"I... I do believe that I've forgotten!" Kai joked, her voice taking on a posh English accent that reminded Sakura of an old English woman. Kai yanked the hoodie off, sighing with relief as she wiped the sweat from her face with a dull gray sleeve.

"Jesus, Kai! How much shit are you wearing?" asked Naruto as she tossed it into the pile at the center of the circle.

"Enough!" Kai said innocently, drawing her brows together. She crossed her arms defensively. "Alright. Um... Kallou truth or dare?"

There was a collective sigh as Kallou scribbled onto her notebook. It was getting beyond annoying. 'Dare.'

"Alright. I dare you to let... hmm, Kiba lick peanut butter off your face. He's a dog, so he should have no problem with it," laughed Kai, yanking the peanut butter out of the pillow sack.

Kallou's features pulled into a snarl and she flung a pillow notebook at Kai. Kiba snickered as Naruto covered Kallou's face in an uneven coating of peanut butter. It looked like a dog had taken a shit all over her face.

Kai tossed the notebook back at the furious scribbling motion that Kallou made. 'I hate you, you moron!'

"Aww, I love you too, Kal!" snickered Kai gleefully, laughing as Kiba licked a line up Kallou's cheek.

"You know, this is damn good peanut butter," laughed Kiba, flicking his tongue across her nose. He waggled his eyebrows at her, and she hit him lightly. Kallou growled, glaring him in the eyes. Kiba snorted, then licked his way up her nose.

When he was finally done, Kallou had her arms crossed defiantly off her chest. She scribbled faster than anyone had yet seen her, and held it up for everyone to see.

'Kai. T-or -d? And DONT be a pussy.'

Kai gulped, and sighed. "Truth." When Kallou started to get up, Kai snarled angrily in her throat. "Fine! Dare. Happy? " She was honestly scared of what Kallou would dare her to do now.

'Immensly. Now- dare u to eat something off someone else's tung.'

"What? That's- but that's gross!" squealed Kai.

"Yeah, well, if you fail a dare, you take two items of clothes off," reminded Sakura, elbowing her with a dark smile. She shouldn't have given away their double-layeredness. "Bet you wish you didn't take off that jacket now, huh?"

"Shut up, Sa-ku-ra," sneered Kai, making Sakura's name sound like a swear word. Sakura wasn't impressed- she'd heard much better, and would certainly hear worse in the future.

Sakura smacked Kai on the arm, earning a growl. "Alright. With who?"

Kallou looked around, mentally checking the status of each person, and their level of noticeable dislike for Kai. Kai cringed, seeing the wheels spinning in Kallou's head.

"Come on already," snapped Shikamaru, "You guys are such a drag."

'Kankuro.' scrawled Kallou victoriously, earning a whining moan from both.

"You brushed before this, right?" hissed Kai as Kankuro glared at her.

"Duh!" was his short retort.

"There ya go," snickered Kiba, squirting whip cream onto Kankuro's outstretched tongue. Kankuro lifted his tongue to look at the white blob and sighed. Kai leaned closer to him, scrunching her eyes shut and reaching her tongue out.

"Pay attention to what you're doing before you stick your tongue in his nose!" coached Sakura, her voice stern. Kai opened her eyes quickly, and readjusted herself. She rolled her eyes, and then quickly dragged her tongue across his, relieving him of the whip cream.

'Swallow' wrote Kallou, grinning triumphantly. Kai whimpered in the back of her throat, and then opened her mouth.

"I will fucking kill you if you do that again, Kal! Kankuro can have my dare. I'd just dare something that she'd refuse- like jumping off a fucking cliff," snapped Kai, vigorously wiping her tongue off. "Assholio."

"Gee, thanks," sniped Kankuro, reddening. "Gaara. You're not doing anything, so... take ur pick."

"Dare," droned Gaara, narrowing his eyes.

"Okayyy..." Kankuro closed his eyes as her thought of a dare. "HA! I've got it- you have to use your tongue to push a penny around the toilet seat."

"I'm not related to you anymore," scowled Gaara, punching his brother a few times for good measure.

Gaara stomped to the bathroom, followed closely by the rest of the gang. Kankuro pulled a penny out of his pants pocket, and sat it on the toilet seat.

"If it falls into the toilet, you lose the dare."

Gaara glared daggers at his brother before lowering his head to the toilet seat. He stuck out his tongue, touching it to the penny before he slowly made his way around the toilet seat. His concentration was shattered when someone shouted his name, and the penny slipped down into the toilet bowl, and he ended up licking the seat.

"FUCK!" He spat, standing up and jerking over to the cabinet. He scrubbed vigorously at his tongue with his toothbrush, and repressed a grimace. He reached out and grabbed his brother by his hair. "If you ever-"

"OW! Let go, Gaara!" moaned Kankuro, his head thrust back. The veins in his neck bulged, and he panted slightly.

"Let him go!" barked Kiba, baring his teeth. Gaara looked up at Kiba

calmly, yanking Kankuro's head back one more time before throwing his brother forward. Kiba snarled once, deep in his throat, and Kankuro pulled himself off the floor, sighing.

"Just like old times..."

"What?" whispered Gaara, grabbing onto Kankuro's shoulder. His eyes darkened dangerously as his fingers clawed into his brother's flesh.

"Nothing..." Kankuro swept his brother's hand off his sleeve, and Gaara snorted in disdain. Kankuro almost missed beiong able to have someone to beat the shit out of, but he was the one who usually ended up getting beat up. Something inside of him just wouldn't let him fully unleash his rage on his little brother.

"Pathetic..." Gaara growled, shoving past his brother.

Naruto and Sasuke averted their eyes, and Kai tried to avoid looking at them completely. She'd been there, knew the pain and the humiliation of being systematically deconstructed before an audience. She'd never willingly subject herself to that- never again.

Sakura sighed, plopping down in her spot of the circle, and resting her head on her hands. Everyone else took their seats, and then Gaara smiled sadistically. "I dare Sakura to throw herself off the top of the building."

"Okay!" smiled Sakura cheerfully, turning as if to get up and walk to the door. "Hell no, you fucking moron!" Sakura yanked off one of her shirts, and threw it into the center. Gaara scowled- he'd actually wanted her to do that one.

"Alright. I dare... Sasuke to dress up in drag and leave it on." Sasuke rolled his eyes at this, accepting the clothes that they pushed at him. He stomped off to his room, and they waited- giggling on a few of their parts- for a few minutes until he emerged.

"Happy? Fucking morons..." Sasuke wobbled out in the wedge heels, his leer deadly. They were allowed the wedges because they weren't sharp, and pretty much harmless. Unless you were stomped on of course, but that always hurt.

Naruto suppressed a giggle, and Sasuke shot him a vindictive glare.

"You're dead. Truth or dare?"

"Duh. Dare. I hate truths!" Naruto beamed, and put his hands on her hips.

"Naruto, I dare you to... strip dance for Sakura." Sasuke licked his lips vindictively, knowing that he would get more out of it than Sakura.

"No! Naruto if you-"

"Dont' worry, Sakura. I don't think you're that attractive either!" snapped Naruto, averting his hurt eyes once again. He yanked off his shirt and threw it in the pile.

"Naruto, I didn't mean..." Sakura sighed, pulling her legs up to her chest. She folded her arms across them, and rested her head down on them. So much for having fun.

"Alright... Shikamaru, your turn." Shikamaru sat up, his drowsy eyes bleary with sleepy dirt. He crossed his arms stonily, and then sighed.

"What?"

"Truth or dare?"

"Uh... dare, I guess."

"Okay... I dare you to... lick wick cream off of Gaara's foot." Naruto smiled, and Shikamaru groaned.

"Dude, do you have hairy feet?" sighed Shikamaru. Gaara shrugged, pulling his bare feet out from under him.

"I dunno." Gaara inspected them closely for a minute, and then shook his head 'no'. Shikamaru sighed with relief, then let Naruto spray the whip cream on. Shikamaru made a face as he got closer to Gaara's feet, and then he relaxed. Of all the people's feet he could've eaten off of, Gaara probably had the cleanest, neatest feet. At least of the boys, anyway.

Shikamaru closed his eyes, and then quickly licked it off, gagging a little. He grabbed one of the shirts from the center pile and spit out the whip cream. "Nasty, man."

Gaara glared daggers at him, and Shikamaru instantly quiet his protests. He took very carefully managed care of his body, and was insulted by Shikamaru.

"Nasty's awesome, Shikamaru! Isn't that what we're here for?" laughed Naruto, highfiving Kankuro.

"Nasty? Fine. Kankuro- since you're a horror fan- you get to do this one. Peanut butter and jelly armpit sandwich." Shikamaru smiled when Kankuro's laugh died, and he explained the dare.

"What happened to the truth side of the equation?" asked Kankuro innocently, raising his brows in the process.

"Not an option this turn. Now- you pick the person with armpits of your choice, and you put jelly in one pit, peanut butter in the other. Wipe each side off, and then make a sandwich out of it and eat it." Shikamaru snickered, and Kankuro groaned.

"Armpits everyone. Do I seriously have to do this?" Kankuro rose his brows as he waited for an answer. He would eat just about anything, and wasn't timid when it came to dealing with other people's bodies, but the fact that it was so public made it uncomfortable.

'You can always take an item of clothing off if it's too gross.' Scrawled Kallou, lifting the pad for him to see.

Kankuro sighed, his arms crossing over his torso and body subconsciously. He bit his lip and then sighed. "Pits. Let me see 'em. If you have hair armpits keep our shirt on."

The girls- Gaara would've, but he had light fuzz- bared their armpits, and Kankuro leaned in to inspect them. He sniffed, inspected for stubble, and poked for deodorant residue. "Ohh, what is that? Okay... it's just a body part. Like a leg... or an arm..."

"Or an armpit!" guffawed Sasuke, letting out a loud laugh.

Kankuro scowled, grabbing someone's arm. "Come on."

"Oh come on!" groaned Kai, squirming under his grip. "Can't you use somebody else? I-I... damn my hygiene!" She shivered and squirmed as her pits were pasted, and then giggled a little when it was wiped off. "I want to see your face, but I want to go wash off!" laughed Kai, scrubbing under her armpits with a towel.

Kankuro glared at her, ripping a bite angrilly out of the sandwich. It was one of the biggest bites any of them had ever seen, and Sakura could've sworn she saw Naruto lick his lips.

Kankuro finished the sandwich in four bites, and Kai ran off to the bathroom to wash her armpits. She was giggling the entire way.

"Alright. I'm sick of dares," scowled Kankuro. "Truths from now on."

"Alright. Biggest fear in life?" suggested Sakura, leaning onto her palm.

"Mmm..." The people around the circle thought and thought, only some of them coming up with answers. They went around the circle, because it was just easiest.

"Okay," sighed Naruto. "Finding out that my parents aren't dead."

That was sort of a morbid answer, and they expected some sort of explanation, so they waited. But they never got one. Naruto just stared at the floor in front of him, seemingly blocking them all out. They couldn't be sure.

"Whatever," sighed Sasuke, staring up at the ceiling. "Realizing that I really am insane, and not being able to deny myself that I'm perfectly normal. "

"Jesus, profound much?" was Kai's exasperated reply. Sasuke shrugged, and Kai shook her head in exasperation.

"Waking up," Shikamaru breathed, rubbing his eyes groggily, not even bothering to announce the fact that that was his answer.

"Isn't that the-" Started Naruto.

"What? Same? Sure. But who said you couldn't have the same fear?" sighed Shikamaru, closing his eyes again. "Your turn... Kiba..."

"Umm... I dunno. Not being a dog?" Kiba scratched behind his ear with his toe, and shrugged. "I dunno..."

Kallou, who had already written her answer out, held it up for them to see. 'My family knowing where I am.'

"They don't know where you are?" Kiba stopped scratching, and Kallou shook her head slowly.

"You didn't tell them because you're embarrassed... or hiding?" Kallou held up two fingers, and Kiba let out a low whistle. "You're one tough girl, Kal."

Kallou offered a wavery smile, and Kiba beamed. Everyone else in the circle rolled their eyes, and looked away waiting for the moment of gushyness to end. Kai coughed awkwardly, and the two broke out of their sort of trance. Kallou reddened, and Kiba bowed his head sheepishly.

"Alright. Moving on!" smiled Sakura. "Err... I think it would be... Being used? But then... well I've been through it- so I can handle it, but I think that's why I'm afraid of it- because I've already been through it. You know?"

A few people nodded, and some just shrugged. Sakura poked Kai, whose eyes had been darting around frantically as she thought of what to say. "Um... Um... I don't know!" confessed Kai sheepishly. "I kind of... Well... you know how people wake up when they're old, and realized that they've pissed their lives away? Well.. I feel like that now sometimes. Like I should leave this place... But whenever I get up the courage to do it, something happens, and I set myself back even further."

Kai shrugged, shaking off the meaning behind her words, and turned to Kankuro expectantly. Kankuro blinked surprisedly, and opened his mouth wordlessly.

"Um.. I don't know how to explain it..." Sighed Kankuro, running his hands through his hair. "Um... Well... I can't explain it... Can I skip this one?"

"Yeah. It's okay if you don't want to answer it. Just take off something," nodded Sakura.

Kankuro and Gaara both peeled off their shirts, and flung them into the middle of the circle. Kankuro wrapped his arms around himself, and Gaara leaned back carelessly. He didn't mind being half naked, but it was obvious Kankuro did. But, after a minute or two, Kankuro put his arms down and forced himself to be comfortable with it. He was in control.

Gaara shrugged, passing his turn on to Naruto, and Naruto smiled. "If the love of your life- sexiest thing you'd ever seen and ever been with- was turned into an animal and the only way to turn them back into a human was to fuck them over and over until they slowly changed back, which animal would be least traumatizing?"

"Good God, Naruto! Where the fuck do you come up with this stuff?" sneered Sasuke in digust, his lip curling upward. "Well...aw, hell. I have no idea." Sasuke ripped off his shirt, and threw it into the circle, glaring at Naruto. Everyone in the circle was glaring at him, and Naruto was just fine with that.

Shikamaru didn't even waste his time thinking about it, but yanked his t-shirt off. Kiba only laughed- he didn't even have to explain himself. Naruto and everyone else knew that he would obviously pick a dog.

Kallou surprised them by holding up her notepad with a big picture of a girl fucking a dog. Kai gagged, and Gaara closed his eyes in disgust. Naruto burst out laughing- he held his stomach as his face turned red.

Sakura and Kai removed their pants- remember, they are wearing shorts underneath- both of them shooting Naruto disgusted looks.

"See Naruto? This is why women find you unattractive," snapped Kai fixing the shorts that had grown twisted after prolonged wear under her pants. They were her favorite boxers- ones that she couldn't remember where she'd gotten, but knew that she liked to wear. They came to just above her knees, and were adorable.

"Meh," shrugged Naruto, a smile growing on his face. Kankuro scowled, yanking his pajama pants off. He reddened as the girls giggled at his dark boxers, and beat Naruto over the head with his pants before tossing them into the middle. Gaara yanked off his pants, calmly flinging them into the center. His and his brother's boxers were cotton, and comfy. (A/n: not a boy. Cotton's comfy, right?)

Naruto smiled, his teeth flashing under the lights in what Sakura took to be an ominous tone. She tucked her legs under her and sighed.

"Okay. What is your... biggest pet peeve- or a small one?" asked Sasuke. "Mine is... when people are blindly happy, and they don't show an ounce of other emotions. Until today... I didn't know that Naruto wasn't a happy freak. "

"Whatever. When people try to wake me up, or snap me out of my high. I'm there for a reason, you know!" Shikamaru flopped down onto his stomach, staring at the pile. "This pile keeps getting bigger, but it's the same people contributing..."

"Um... people telling me I'm not a dog. I know what the hell I am!" ranted Kiba, crossing his arms over his chest.

Kallou grimaced, and then bent her head down to write, her hand arching and swaying furiously. 'Don't ask me to talk. It makes me mad.'

"Fair enough..." Sakura nodded, and then continued. "Um... liars and cheats. I hate people who cheat you, and then lie about it."

"Err... people who pretend that they know who you are by reading a freaking chart, or listening to you for two minutes. How the hell do they even know if I'm lying or not! They don't." Kai crossed her arms, getting mad just thinking of it.

Kankuro smiled, and then laughed. "I'm not losing clothes this time! Um... hard to explain, but I hate anyone who tries to get close to you just to turn their back on you."

Gaara nodded, silently proud of his brother for not giving away anything too secret. "Ditto."

"Oh, come on! That doesn't count-"

"Yeah it does, Naruto," snapped Sasuke. "You can't say that he doesn't have the same pet peeve. Their brothers for Christ's sake. Just because you want to see them naked doesn't mean you're going to." Sasuke shook his head in exasperation, and punched his new friend.

"Ow!"

"Get over it."

"Hey! It's my turn," drawled Shikamaru, wiping a long hand down his face. "What was your parents general reaction to your coming here? Mine were mad, but my Dad understood more than my Mom. He dabbles a bit- if you know what I mean!"

Kiba laughed, and then frowned. "My mom didn't get why I was put in here. She thinks she's a dog, too, so..."

All of the others were surprised at this, and it seemed to explain a lot. No one said anything, but they moved on to the next person in the group.

All Kallou put was dot, dot, dot because they already knew that her parents- hell her whole family- didn't know that she was here. She was state appointed.

Sakura sighed, and picked up where they left off. "They just want me to get better, but... since it's free to go here- or at least state pays for it- they told me to take as long as I need. I don't think that they can bare to look at me anymore. But- I do know that they miss me!"

"My family hates me. They think I'm a psycho bitch, but I'm really just a perfectly darling child!" Kai giggled, clasping her hands like a woman in an old fifties' movie would have. "Oh, for whatever reason, could I have been sent here?"

"Mine... didn't really care. They were... sort of... busy?" Kankuro glanced over to Gaara, his facial expressions either humored or pained- none of them could tell. "Can you-...? "

"They're dead."

"Oh... Sorry." "That blows man." "Rotten luck."

"We killed our father and our uncle, but our mom died giving birth to me," sneered Gaara. "They're better to us dead."

So. Fun enough for you? I needed to end it somewhere, you know? :P And besides- ask Kallou. I've been working on this for forrrreevvverrrr. :P So, yeah, I'd definitely appreciate reviews. Were the dares good enough? Should I have done more?

**Also, maybe in sopme of the later chapter, you'll be able to decide what happens! I have the plans for the next chapters already though, so... :P I just need to get them on the computer. :P I've been on vacation, and I just got around to editing the last chapter- I'd had it done for a good two weeks, so I'm sorry for THAT delay. :P But yeah, when I got to sunburnt or whatever, I worked on the chapter after this one. :P So... let me update it, and then maybe after that you guys can help me write. :)**

**I'll give you a few options... and then list them. :)**

**A-**

**B-**

**C-**

**That will be the basic format. :) Sorry for not having any lemons- I'm a bit nervous about writing them. :P It's kind of... awkward, you know? I might need some help on them, if anyone is interested! :D I mean actually writing and stuff help, not just tips, lol. :P I can through and add and stuff... but, yeah. :P Lemons are not exactly my metier. :P**


	6. Liar, Liar

The moon peaked past the bars and the curtains coaxing him rather rudely from the sleep that always had and always would elude him. Gaara looked up from the lower bunk, somewhat unsure of how he had come to be there, his mind wandering hazily from subject to subject. It touched lightly on the fact that he didn't quite recognize how he had come to be on the lower bunk- he knew someone had put him here. He had as of late been sleeping on the top bunk so that he could stare at the patters on the ceiling- it had become one of those bizarre pasttimes that people picked up in places such as these.

Gaara remembered vaguely the notion of some foreign feeling that had been floating around him the night before, and knew that he hadn't liked it. It wasn't familiar enough to gain any sort of approval from him. He was too startled by it to register that it was in fact the result of having fun. He'd felt warm and fuzzy, something that he felt when he was locked in his body, high on medicine. He had come to associate the fun, free feeling with being trapped- he didn't even know what his feelings were anymore, he was so detached from himself.

Gaara had felt like he walking some unseen trapeze wire the whole night- he'd been giddy. He was never giddy- unless his medication was having an adverse affect on him. Gaara coudn't handle being happy anymore- every time he'd ever been allowed to feel happy, there was a greater price to pay for it. So he'd stopped trying. It was easier to pretend he was someone else, and watch others have fun than to try to feel it himself.

These people that he was crammed together with... they were all as messed up as he was, though in different ways and quantities. They dealt with it different than him, though were lumped together with him- they had things in common. It was either a half-assed attempt at self-therapy, or a sign that they were given up on. They dealt in their own ways, and it seemed odd to him that some of them could go from happy to sad in a matter of seconds. He couldn't handle such unpredictability. Was Tsunade testing him?

He could judge people, predict their movements- he could read their thoughts through their body language. But these people... half of them didn't even know themselves what they were going to do next- which drove him up the wall trying to figure them out. He wore himself out just trying to determine their actions. Half of what they did was pointless! He liked to spy on them at night, and see what they were doing- as if watching them sleep would help him sleep, or at least give him some sort of sordid insight.

Gaara exhaled softly, lifting his head from his mattress. After a second, though, he dropped his head back down. Why bother? It was the middle of the night. Besides- if he couldn't stand them, why bother putting himself in direct way of their antics? He longed to strike out and hurt them...

Of course- if he killed them, his brother would never talk to him again, now would he? Gaara could remember having his brother on his side... for well, as long as he could remember! He didn't know if he could live without that- it was the only real human contact that he had- his sister didn't get him at all. If his brother hadn't been on his side all these years- he'd have been euthanized already. Gaara laced his fingers behind his head, closing his eyes. He didn't sleep, but he didn't think either. He washed himself blank.

He guessed he was pretending to sleep, listening to the sound of his own breathing and the dim sound of his own heart beating. He zoned out further, dislocating himself from his body, and drifting up to the ceiling to look down at himself laying there. He knew it seemed illogical to pull himself from his body, but he didn't care. He floated away, through the door and off to spy on everyone else. Was this honestly real? Maybe- he was betting on not, but it didn't hurt to break the monotony.

Sakura was a soft sleeper; she was heavy sleeper in the fact that Kallou's roaring music didn't wake her up, but soft in the way that her features and body language portrayed her. Gaara hovered for only a moment before pulling back, his eyes on the soft pink tufts of hair that splayed carelessly on her pillow. She reminded him of his sister- the way she slept with her head on the pillow she hugged so desperately to her chest.

Kallou was more independent, other than the music she seemed to cling to. Her notepad was next to her pillow, closed of course. Gaara longed to reach out and touch it, read it, and find something out about her. She was so distant- one of the only ones he knew absolutely nothing about.

Gaara drifted off again, this time through their door. Kankuro was sprawled out on one side of the 'L' couch, his features as Gaara had memorized them forever ago. Kankuro's brows were relaxed- which Gaara knew to be the absence of a nightmare- for now anyway. His eyes were only slightly scrunched together- a sign that meant he was confused- but, by the turn of his mouth, Gaara knew that Kankuro wasn't displeased.

Gaara looked over at the other form on the couch, noting her disheveled appearance. Kai's hair was flung out all across the cushion, her chin tucked tightly into the blue pillow. Feverish whisperings passed through her lips, and she tossed and turned relentlessly. Her features twisted fretfully, and Gaara repressed the urge to touch and remember them.

There was a soft sigh, and the rustle of movement where his feet would've been- if he had any- and so he glanced down.

Sasuke and Naruto lay side by side, Naruto's face resting contentedly on the expanse of Sasuke's torso. Sasuke's arm wrapped lazily around Naruto's shoulders, a smug smile gracing his lips. This was... a lover's embrace! Gaara blinked, and then made a face. He soared away, abandoning their secret.

Kiba and Shikamaru's room was a disaster area, but he was lucky. He melted through the door and stole closer to them, their impassive expressions unreadable.

Shikamaru's head was thrown back, his long hair loose for once. It fell across the pillow in strange patterns, and curled where it had hugged his skull. Kiba groaned, and Gaara nearly crashed backwards into the mess of their belongings.

Gaara rose higher, inspecting Kiba's features. "No more... please, no more! I mean it! Uhn..." Gaara didn't know of what Kiba dreamed, but it was obviously not good. Kiba grunted, and rolled over, his face hidden from view.

Gaara flew silently back to the living room, subconsciously hiding himself from view when he heard someone stir.

"Come back! I swear... I didn't mean it, you..." grumbled Kai, her pitch escalating closer and closer to a whine. "But I miss- why can't-" Kai jolted awake, glancing around the room. She visibly flinched when she saw the two males on the floor, and then slapped herself in the face. "Goddamit. I knew it! I told myself he was diff- Shit. I'm talking to myself again!"

Kai sighed then, plopping down onto all fours to wake Naruto. "Hey, No-No?"

"Huhn?" murmured Naruto, lifting his face for a moment.

"Go to bed before someone else finds you like this." She whispered, and Gaara felt a twang of jealousy. No one he knew would cover for him like that- not that he'd ever swing that way- but it would be nice to have someone cover for him like that. These people surprised him- they weren't' what they seemed. He hadn't expected Naruto- who notorious for checking out porn from the library- to be gay. He also hadn't expected some of the nightmare dreamers to be who they were, either.

Naruto shrugged, mumbled something, and then started to shuffle back to his room. Gaara hurriedly rushed back to his body- he was not going to leave his body alone in the presence of a gay man- no matter who they were. He'd be damned if he let anything like that ever happen again.

Gaara, now safe in his bed again, stared up at the bunk above him. He

had to wonder- why were some of the happiest people he knew having nightmares? Sakura, Kai, and Kiba had been quite obviously having nightmares- even though they seemed happy enough. Sure, Sakura was quite and stuff, but still...

Gaara sighed to himself, blinking drowsily. Maybe he wasn't supposed to know. Yet.

* * *

Naruto frowned, angling his head to get a better look- he could've sworn he saw Gaara crouching behind the door to the living room. He shrugged it off figuring he was still half asleep, because when he back to his room, Gaara was curled up on the bottom bunk, staring at the bottom of the top one. Naruto exhaled the breath he'd been holding in, clamoring onto the top bunk without worry as to whether or not he'd wake up Gaara- Gaara hardly ever seemed to sleep.

Naruto hadn't even realized that secret was 'out' but he didn't care at the moment- all he wanted was sleep.

The next morning, or rather, a few hours later, Naruto sat up and looked

around, the memories of the past night heavy on his mind. He had to find Kai and Sasuke- now. If he was to leave this undiscussed, there would surely be questions from the others.

He found Kai passed out on the couch, her fatigue so immense that she just rolled over when he smacked her on the head. Naruto growled in frustration and stomped off to find Sasuke.

"Sasuke?" He called out, opening the door as he did so. Sasuke lay on his bed, a hand tucked under his head. The other clutched an Ipod, one that he recognized as Kai's.

Sasuke's eyes snapped open at the sound of Naruto's voice, and he lazily turned his gaze to Naruto, yanking a headphone out of his ear. "What!"

"Um, last night... Did I-?"

"Kiss me and profess your love?" Sasuke smirked at the shocked look on Naruto's face. "No. But, uh... we had some fun, yeah. So, are you in or out?"

"Huh? Of what?" asked Naruto, scratching the back of his head.

"The closet- duh."

* * *

Sakura sat on her bed, rubbing her eyes. Why the hell was she so tired?

Then she remember that they had been up at least half the night playing

games and she groaned- so disgusting, but so much fun.

Her back ached from the strange position she'd been sleeping in, but she couldn't remember for the life of her what it had been. Not that it mattered- all she needed to know was not to sleep that way anymore.

She threw a pillow at Kallou, turning around to change her shirt.

"I'm up already..." grumbled Kallou, "Geez."

Sakura spun around, her shirt only half way on. "You- but you never talk! What- but-... You're talking?"

"Eh. Got bored of being silent. It's a real pain in the ass. Don't tell anyone though- not even Kai. Hell, especially not Kai. If she finds out I'm talking- she'll probably never talk to me again." Kallou hopped down from the top bunk, leaving her notepad behind. She looked... like she was missing a limb or something without that notepad- at least in Sakura's opinion.

"Why not? And I'm not discouraging you from talking or anything, but why are you talking all of a sudden?" Sakura fixed her shirt, and started brushing out her hair. She winced when the brush passed through a particularly large tangle.

"I dunno..." sighed Kallou, yanking the brush through her hair as well. It was only when Kallou spoke again that Sakura realized how pretty Kallou's voice actually was- why hide something like that? "I guess it just felt like the right time, you know? I've waited long enough."

Sakrua nodded, slipping her institution-issued sandals- the beige pair today- out of underneath her bed and onto her feet. She'd never noticed, either, how much more soft and comfortable they were than regular sandals. Even more so than her own- which she bought specially for their comfort. "You never answered my question though. Why would Kai be mad, of all people? I've like never seen her mad. Ever!"

Kallou changed her shirt slowly, facing away from Sakura. Sakura sighed, trying to wait patiently as Kallou pieced the words together in her head.

"Well..."

Sakura groaned, unaccustomed to Kallou's talking which made it an extra burden to wait for the answer. Sakura exhaled again- this time almost angrily, and popping her knuckles boredly one at a time.

"Okay- so. Here's the deal. Kai is... well, Kai is Kai. She's not who you think she is though. She's dangerous, to put it short." Sakura's eyes narrowed in disbelief, and she snorted.

"Kai? That fruit loop is dangerous? Ha! Right- and my sister is alive and well, sipping Mojitos and watching the sunset on the beach!"

"See this is why I don't talk! And don't use Kai's words- it pisses her off." Snapped Kallou angrily, reaching for the handle on the door.

"Okay! Wait! Tell me, please? How is she dangerous?"

"She-" Kallou took a breath, holding a finger to signify that Sakura had to wait. Kallou opened the door, peaking her head out to ensure that no one was there. After verifying that fact, she popped her head back in, immediately launching into better detail. "Alright. You know Gaara and Naruto have records for flying off the handle right?"

Sakura paled slightly, and nodded. "Okay, so-, Kai's record is... longer. She's happy nearly all the time, but well, when she's any other emotion that isn't linked to happyess in some way... she goes off. She's on medicine to keep her happy, and that's what she's like. Off her medicine- watch out. She reacts bad to stuff period- I've never seen her off her medicine, so I wouldn't know exactly how bad she gets, but still."

"If she isn't mad often, then how the hell is her record long-" Sakura's eyes widened slightly.

"Exactly. She goes hog-wild." Kallou smirked then. "Aww, come on! I thought you said she was harmless! I hope this doesn't change your friendship."

"I'm sure that something along the road will have a hand in that," snorted Sakura, sweeping her bangs out of her face.

There was a knock on the door then, and Kai announced herself. Kallou's mouth snapped shut, and she glared Sakura into silence. There would be a price to pay if Kai found out they were talking about her- even Sakura knew that much.

"Whatcha doin'? Sounded like you were talking to yourself!" smiled Kai, her eyes bright as she shrugged carelessy. "But then, I do that all the time, huh? So, I can't really complain." Kai stuck her tongue out, and then rolled her eyes. "God I'm a dork."

Sakura laughed, almost concealing the unease. "Kallou doesn't really talk to me, you know? So... God, this is embarrassing... I talk for her." Sakura winced visibly, waiting to see if Kai would accept the vague lie. She wasn't sure whether the growth of her lying abilities bothered her or not. She could learn a few things from Gaara.

Kai's eyes narrowed for a second, and then relaxed, and she smiled. "I know right? Well, uh, the nurse is coming in a little bit. I owe Shikamaru my pills, so- if anything a little weird happens, that should be normal. Just a little weird, not too over the top. I'm going to try to keep it on the d-l."

Sakura and Kallou nodded, and Kai nodded as well. "Just making sure everyone knows. I don't want you guys saying something so I get caught."

"Gawd, that was close!" laughed Sakura. She turned back to see Kallou's reaction, and them grimaced. Kallou was gone. Now she reallywas talking to herself.

Kankuro groaned in his sleep, rolling over onto his side. He made an uncomfortable face and then flipped over again, this time onto his belly. He let out a low yell as he toppled onto the floor, frowning as he realized it was his own doing.

"You okay?" asked Kai, leaning over the opposite end of the couch to stare at him, smiling as usual.

"Yeah," grimaced Kankuro. "Why do you care?"

"Who said I did?" laughed Kai, raising a bemused brow. "Common courtesy. You should really try it some time, you know."

Kankuro grunted, lifting himself off the floor. "Fuck you."

"Awww, you too!' smiled Kai, and Kankuro blinked.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" demanded Kankuro, leaning in to inspect her large brown eyes for any discepancies. He didn't know what he was looking for, but he didn't know what was wrong either.

"Nothing. Everything. Depends on the time of day that you ask." Shrugged Kai, a wide grin crossing her features. "They both apply." Kankuro couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or if she actually meant it, but he didn't say so. He could hear the edge to her voice, and he didn't want to get in the way of that- whatever 'that' may be.

* * *

Kankuro accepted his plastic cup of medicine, downing it without a further thought to it. He didn't even know what they were anymore, but they helped him cope. He sat the cup down on the counter of the little bar that was in their in room- sans alcohol of course- and then looked up again.

He knew already that Naruto and Kai weren't going to take the medicine, and he tried not to watch them. He was curious as to how they were going to pull this off, but he didn't want to get them caught by watching too closely.

Naruto accepted his up as well, and slowly brought it to his lips, opening his mouth. It looked like he was going to take his medicine, but when the nurse turned her back- a rookie mistake- Naruto quickly dumped the pills out into his palms and gulped. He held the empty cup out to the nurse, waiting for her turn away from Kai. There were always security officials just outside the doors during these procedures, for just such measures as Naruto and Kai were taking.

Kai picked up her medicine, and stared at it for a moment before setting it back down. The nurse smoothed her white uniform, and Kai passed a hand over her mouth. Kankuro wasn't sure if she was acting or not, but he knew that her face was slowly growing paler.

"Are you feeling well?" asked the nurse, leaning in to better see Kai's expression. Kai wilted, and shrunk back.

"No... I don't... Could you take me the doctor? I think I'm gonna be sick..." admitted Kai, her face turning paler and sallower by the minute.

"Are you sure? Are there any other pains?"

Kankuro watched out of the corner of his eyes as Naruto lifted the cup to his lips, tipped it back, and then folded his hands in his lap. He tilted his hands ever so slightly to relieve the small cup of it's contents.

"My stomach hurts- it feels like something is trying to gnaw it's way out through my stomach. My head is pouding... have you ever been hit in the head with a two-by-four?" asked Kai, her eyes watering. Gaara smirked, because he knew that Shikamaru had given her a little bit of tobacco to swallow, and that she'd drank a lot of water and salt. Kai stood up, and moved to the nurse.

"Do I have a fever?" The nurse indulged her, pressing the inside of her forearm to Kai's forehead. Kai stiffened when she inhaled the strong odor of the nurse's deep, husky perfume.

She reeled forward as she vomited up the murky contents of her stomach, right onto the nurse's white uniform. Naruto burst into laughter, nearly clapping his hands in approval. Sakura immediately keeled over the counter and puked up the contents of her stomach.

"I'm so sorry," gasped Kai, gagging again. A strand of vomit clung to her chin, and she wiped away with the back of her arm. "I don't feel so good. I'll take my medicine now, okay?"

The nurse looked down at her clothes, and moaned dismally. Kai moved over to the table, and grabbed a cup of medicine off and downed it quickly. Gaara's eyes narrowed in surprise as he realized it was his medicine. He watched nonchalantly as she pulled her own cup of medicine off of the table, and pressed it into Shikamaru's leg.

Shikamaru's hand closed around the cup, and shoved it into his pocket. Kai shivered then, wrapping her arms around herself. "I feel better now. Do I still have to go see the doctor?"

The nurse looked up from whiping herself down, and faltered. "I'll come back and get you after I've changed and you've cleaned yourself up, all right? Has everyone taken their medicine?"

Everyone nodded, placing their cups back onto the tray. Shikamaru dug Kai's now empty cup- he'd dumped the pills back into his pocket- out of his pocket and put it onto the tray. The nurse smiled politely, and then glanced down at herself in utter disgust.

Kai shook her head, her breathing becoming labored. She blinked a few times, a then a broken breath escaped her lips. She darted away from the wall, and Kankuro jolted forward when she tripped, then he pulled them back sheepishly when she fell to the floor in a ball, her arms covering her head.

"I'll send in a cleanup crew to get the puke out of here, all right? They'll be here in about twenty minutes. Try and puke in this general are if you're going to puke again, all right?"

Everyone nodded, and she packed up her thnings and left. Kankuro immediately turned to Kai and smiled.

"You're a piece of work, you know that?" he laughed, shoving her lightly. Kai smiled, and flashed him a thumbs up before swaying groggily.

"I'm a tired piece of work... I better go before I fall asleep in the shower..." Kai mumbled, getting up out of her stool. Kankuro stared at her ass as she wobbled to her room, wondering to himself what she'd look like if she wasn't wearing pants.

* * *

Kai had to stay for an overnight evaluation, and while she was gone it was very quiet.

They all sat in the living room, their conversation lively and animated, as they talked about their favorite things, but then it died down. Usually, when conversation died down Kai woud make a random remark and a new conversation would begin. Naruto was the one to remedy the lull in conversation today, but his topics were raunchy and even more obscure than Kai's. At least Kai's were relatable.

Kallou had resolved to talk as much as she could before Kai got back, and she shared only the secrets that needed to be shared. Secrets that would keep the others out of her warpath. And she even shared a few about herself, like that fact that her past was rather dark and not quite so fun to share. So she didn't share all of it of course, but told them she didn't have a happy childhood, to which the rest of them laughed. Who of them had?

And then they realized- maybe that was why they were put together.

When Sakura aired her opinion on this matter, some of them agreed while some of them blatantly wrote the fact off as cheer coincidence. It was rather unlikely. With that matter in the open, they all piddled off to their room to avoid the matter, letting their lives go on. It was easier to avoid it. Why worry about it, when they could simply move on?

Sakura however didn't move on. She sat in front of the couch, not allowing herself to sit on it. She felt that it was more Kai and Kankuro's place than anyone elses', seeing as they crashed there half the time. They didn't pick their sides, but let themselves sleep where they fell. Sakura would've felt that she was intruding, even though the two had no real claim to the couch.

She cracked the book open on her lap, the purple covers slapping lightly against her legs. The page in front of her was blank save for the deep pink color and fancy border. Some would say it was a diary, but not her. She never called them diaries- they were strictly journals. It was a promise she'd made to her little cousin Konohamaru when she was younger, and it had stuck.

She didn't know what she was going to write, and so she let her mind wander, resolving to write about the first things that came to mind, no matter how mundane or simple. When she felt that familiar feeling of dread in her stomach, it only took her a second to remember that why she was feeling dreadful- Kai. And so she wrote, her writing growing to scribbling as she got closer to touchy subjects. When she was younger her parents had read all of her journals and confronted her about it. So she'd learned to read messy, scribbled writing; whenever she got to something she especially didn't want anyone to read her usually magnificent handwriting would become abruptly messy and rude.

'I hope that my talking to Kallou wasn't what upset Kai so terribly. I don't think I'll trust Kallou with any of my secrets is that's how she's going to turn on Kai so quickly. I wonder if Kai heard us, and kenw that I was lying? I'm such a terrible liar... I'd ask Gaara to help me, but he'd probably just terrorize me because he'd know I was terrible at it. Oh, Jonesy, I don't know what to do anymore... I feel like a bitch, but I honestly don't know why! Maybe I'll feel better after I take a shower. Ciao Ciao! 33'

Sakura snapped the book shut, freezing when she felt the cushion behind her move. A shadow was cast over her and onto the little journal. She turned, only half surprised to see Gaara standing behind her, staring pointedly at the purple journal in her hands. She gulped slightly, wondering what he was up to now.

"Why do all girls have diaries?" He sneered, his lip curling slightly. Gaara leaned over the couch, his manly hand grabbing a locke of her hair and tugging on it in an almost gentle manner.

"First off- it's a journal, not a diary. And how long have you been there?" She didn't notice as her hands shyly slid over the cover of the journal, but Gaara did. She was too busy feeling his hand slide from her hair to the back of neck.

"Long enough to know." Sakura gasped when his hand tightened on the back of her neck in a threatening manner.

"Know? Know what, exactly?" Sakura narrowed her eyes, and twisted around completely.

"Are you feeling guilty about making fun of her, or for putting her in the position of having to give up her pills- which you know she needs." Gaara sneered, and the chucked. "I'm glad you did though- she took my medicine today. I feel pretty damn good right about now. But you're a bad friend, Sa-ku-ra."

"Jerk. Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners? Reading over people's shoulders is rude! It's! Its-"

"It's effective," Gaara growled, his electric blue eyes suddenly startlingly close to leaned over the edge of the couch, his hands on the cushion to hold him up. He had no qualms about getting close to her, and completely invading her personal space. But she did. She had a big problem with it- and he was testing her to see just that. He liked what he saw, "and my mom is dead. Or did you forget that?"

Sakura had allowed herself to be the first one to pull away, which was a mistake on her part- it was a sign of weakness. "It's also rude, Gaara."

She walked quickly back to her room, the little purple journal clutched ever so tightly in her hands. Gaara was close to her heels, and she could practically feel his hot, predatory breath running down her back. She shivered in spite of herself.

Sakura turned around once she was in her doorway, and started to tell Gaara to go away. She braced her arms against the doorway, and tried to create a human door. Gaara shoved past her, and into her room. "Since when have I been polite?"

Sakura let out an angry groan and tried to push him out of the room, but she hadn't realized how strong her actually was. His eyes narrowed almost tiredly, and she sucked in an angry, nervous breath.

He waved her aside, secretly gleeful that there was something in here worth hiding. Whatever she tried to keep him away from was what he was going to use against her. She would lead him to it.

When he moved towards her dresser, she immediately flinched and motioned to follow him, her hands rising protectively to her chest instantly. He noticed the pictures on top of her dresser, and flocked to them before thinking about it. She moaned under her breath, and hissed when he grabbed a random photo. She dropped her journal to the floor, and tried to grab the photo from him, her small hands curling around the dark fram. Gaara pulled it upward, and away from her. Her fingers were pulled loose as he rose his arm to hold the framed photo over his head.

He held it up in the air, stiff arming her away from so he could study it. It was a family portrait of Sakura and her sister (he remembered that her name was Ino), and her mother and father. Her mother had pink hair as well, and the same eye shape as Sakura, though the eye color was off. He repressed a smile- she was beautiful even though she had to be at least thirty-five. He studied the face of the skinny male to the side, and deduced that Sakura got her eye color from him. The other girl got the eyes from the mother- light blue, though much darker than his own. The male had given his blonde hair to the girl, and his darker skin tone. He didn't know it, but the mother had passed down her promiscuity.

The two girls seemed to getting along just fine, their arms around each other as they smiled. They wore matching red and purple outfits- the same outfit in different colors- and seemed to have not a care in the world. Gaara glanced over to Sakura, and noticed that she seemed to be having a lot of troubles right now.

He set the frame down, and reach for another one that lay face down. Sakura clenched her fists, assaulting him to the best of her ability as she tried to force him out the door. She didn't realize his sheer strength until with a seemingly effortless push he sent her sprawling. She cried out as she smacked into the bunk bed, but he took no notice.

He was tall and skinny by his own doing- he controlled just how much ate very carefully. Being skinny and wiry was great for underestimation. He would have the advantage of surprise on his side every time. It wasn't a coincidence that he got that strong but remained so skinny and wiry. he made sure of it. It was an aide- a crutch, though he'd never see it that way. There was many a night when he couldn't sleep that he ended up doing situps and pushups to keep himself from growing fat and lax as so many of the other patients did.

He examined the next photo, his eyes cool and slightly glazed with study, one arm buffeting the furious flailing limbs of Sakura. A man with short, dark hair and matching dark eyes had his pale arms wrapped around Sakura, a somewhat cheerful smile setting his lips. The smile didn't reach his cold eyes however- they were quite dank with boredom. Sakura was all smiles in a rash comparison. Her pink hair- which had once been long and glossy now hung limp and short around to about her shoulders, the high gloss now set to low beams. It was matte, and flat in tone. In the picture it was piled atop her head in an elegant but messy bun, and her cheeks were lifted in a vibrant smile of sparkling pink. The man, whom he assumed to be her date, wore a sharp suit and Sakura wore a green gown that set off her eyes like little green fireworks. It looked to be junior prom.

"Who's he?" Gaara turned to look at her, almost startled to realize that he hadn't noticed when she stopped fighting with him. His arm dropped to his side slowly, and he gave her long look as he waited for an answer.

"Sai." When Gaara narrowed his eyes expectantly, she scowled and started up again. "He's..." but then she paused. She hadn't determined yet whether she was ready to call him her 'ex' or not. She didn't see the harm in calling him her boyfriend one last time. "He's my boyfriend."

"Was. He left you." Gaara shook his head 'no' in disagreement to the lie that she'd told him, but Sakura narrowed her eyes and stuck to her guns. What did she have to lose?

"No. He has not. Why the hell would I lie about something so stupid?" She folded her arms, glaring at him as best as she could.

"Because. You're afraid of me." Gaara smiled- could such a demonic grin be classified as a smile?

He set the picture down, turning to her raising a 'brow' as he waited for her answer.

"I am not! I'm just piss-"

Sakura yelped when before she could protest any further she was pressed into the closet door, her slender arm twisted forcefully behind her back. Her face was pressed harshly against the riveted wooden door, and her cheek scraped viciously against it as Gaara leaned into her. Her back was greatly arched as she twisted and struggled in vain to find a more comfortable position.

"Really? Just angry?" He felt, watched, and waited for her reaction, his fingers digging in slightly deeper as he felt her pulse leap. Her hips were pressed into the door as he leaned all of his weight into her. She hissed as her arm was twisted a little it more with the adjustment.

"Yes. Just angry!" Sakura said slowly, wincing and tensing slightly after her words when she expected him to hurt her- do something. Her voice was strong, but her body language and rapid pulse gave her away. Gaara's chuckled frightened her.

"Then why'd you flinch, Sa-ku-ra?" She could feel the satified smile in his hot, whispered breath as it brushed against her ear. She faintly connected the fact that she hated when he said her name and made it sound so damn dirty and filthy.

His lips brushed against her earlobe, and then drifted to the back of her neck. "Don't you miss him at all?"

She opened her mouth, already preparing to fire off some snapy retort, but before the words could leave her mouth she felt his lips contact her neck more fully, trailing gentle suction to the hollow behind her ear.

"I- I don't know," she admitted, her voice husky with passion and sorrow.

"Figure it out, Sakura," Gaara mumbled, his lips trailing across her throat as she inhaled heavily. He nipped at the soft fflesh of the side of her neck, leaving a quick, poignant mark. Sakura gasped, and then whimpered when he tugged at the arm he still had pulled behind her back.

She opened her mouth to plead for him to let her arm go, but the pressure of his hands was lifted before she could. She didn't dare move, but even if she did dare it, Sakura didn't think she could've. It felt like her heart had stopped. She was terrified all right. When she turned around, he was gone.

**Author's Note- So i WAS going to add more. :P But it's too long, lmao. :) So I already wrote the beginning from the next chapter- it's still in the notebook, gotta get it on the computer. :P BUT- I do have some options for you!**

**Would you like to see...**

**A-Gaara terrorize Sakura a little further...**

**B-Just because I love it- Kai and Kankuro getting to know each other a little better...**

**C- Kallou and Kiba getting a little closer...**

**D- Some Shika-Tema- if you vote for this I'll think of a plan- because I haven't thought of one yet, lol.**

**E- A little bit of Sasunaru- even though I'm not usually the one to vote for that sort of thing, lol go ahead. :)**

**You and pick one or two- but PLEASE stress the one that you'd rather have. :P And DON'T say all of them. :P That makes my job SO MUCH HARDER. :P Freedom is grand, but knowing what you all want is great too. :) I won't have one of these EVERY chapter, that way the story can still be mine, but knock yourselves out. :D**

**Lauren/Mellokai.**

**Reviews in 3... 2... 1... NOW! :D**


	7. Musical Needles

_ TICK-TICK-TICK._ THE INCESSANT ticking of the small, circle analog clock that hung on the wall to the right of Kallou rang out in her ears, the repetitive sound making her skin crawl uncomfortably. As she looked around the room, her pulse pounded dully in her ears; it bothered her that her heart didn't beat in a rhythm cohesive with the ticking of the clock. It seemed as though as everyone could hear the loud thudding that proved her existence. Silently, she observed, the guilty feeling that stewed in her pit of her stomach as heavy as it had ever been. Still there was a day and a half's wait for Kai to return so that she could attempt to apologize. She'd never been good at them. Nonetheless, she'd practiced it over and over again. She knew what she wanted to say but she also knew that when she got the chance she'd probably mess up. Her voice always abandoned her when she needed it the most.

Kallou frowned with boredom, her eyes rejecting the sight of her surroundings for the faded gray fabric of her shorts. The worn bottoms didn't quite meet her knees. She absently fingered the white, frayed threads that held the worn fabric together, scratching lightly at the seam on her inner- thigh with her thumbnail. Kallou gently smoothed the pad of her thumb over the edge of the shorts, knowing that if they were any shorter, the numerous scars that marred the silky flesh of her thighs would be visible. She scratched at the corner again, pressing down so hard that her thumbnail bent. She'd have to find a way to clip the worthless bit of nail off later.

Yet again, they were sitting in a group session. Yet again, just as most of the times before, no one was talking. In a few of the recent sessions, Kiba had gotten bored enough to start howling; it sounded like a strange mammalian song but she couldn't quite be sure. She never knew about him; he was too mysterious.

Tsunade would ask boring questions every so often, her boredom evident. This time though, she not so much bored as livid. Whenever their blonde caretaker would open her mouth to speak, Kallou's brows would raise expectantly as she thought, '_Ope! Here she goes again... Wonder what she'll say this time...'_

_"_Why do you guys never answer me!?" Tsunade demanded, forgetting her cool as she leaned forward in her chair. Long strands of hair fell forward, covering her face and hiding her amber eyes from view. She didn't bother to acknowledge the mutinous locks of hair.

Kallou surprised everyone in the room, including herself, when she calmly answered the question. "You haven't posed an interesting question." Her voice dripped with boredom, but it held a tone of authority to it. Tsunade was intrigued.

Her first response to the remark was to blink stupidly for a moment before exchanging a bewildered look with her assistant. "Why don't you find my questions... interesting?"

Shikamaru chuckled, lifting his head and opening a single eye to leer at her."We _know _what _we_ want, but you obviously have never been interested. No one has. So we stopped talking. Whenever we come to a touchy subject, you reject it. You fear what might come up in conversation. In doing so, you have ostracized that which you are desperately seek."

Tsunade's flustered state was evident as all attempts at a fluid, clam question were reduced to sputters. "D—I—what _do_ you want, then? Playing mind games with me won't get you any closer to what _you_ refuse to openly answer.

"Freedom," whispered Naruto. It was more to himself than anyone else, but it was acknowledged nonetheless.

"Okay... I think we both know I can't give you that, though." All pretenses of professionalism had flown out the window the moment Kallou had opened her mouth. Tsunade was so supremely pleased that they were speaking, she'd do almost anything to get them to continue. "How about lunches and dinners outside, twice a week, weather permitting?"

She had hated sessions with them; she would probably always hate these sessions, but it was a worth a try to make them more bearable.

Kiba shook his head 'no' to the bargain that Tsunade had offered, his hair falling into his eyes with the vigorous motion. "Three."

"How about this: two one week, then three the next. They'll alternate. They'll have to. Take it or leave it." When Kiba nodded his compliance, Tsunade exhaled slowly, jotting down her achievement. With any other group, that would have been a small one but not with this group, no. That was practically a milestone. "What else?"

"Notification," demanded Kankuro, his eyes hardened to the answer he thought she might give. "You _have_ to tell us things instead of worrying whether or not we'll say no. Worry about what will happen _when_ we find out, not _if_."

"Fair enough, you do deserve _that _much," admitted Tsunade. They had treated them rather like animals as the years progressed and they showed no signs of progress. That hadn't been beneficial at all, she could see that now. She frowned as she wrote down the seemingly trivial rule. It would matter to them.

"Can we... can we have more free days? Or, at least plan our _own _schedules? At _least_ change it up a little bit? We're always so bored," rambled Naruto. He bit his lip nervously; this was of the utmost important to him. He got bored so easily that even a slight change would be a vast improvement.

Kallou watched and listened, silently, her silvery eyes taking in the first real group session they'd ever had. Kai would be pissed that she'd missed out on it. A sudden realization twisted in her gut. "Guys... it would be... beneficial if Kai did not know I initiated..."

Explanation was not needed. Even her wing mates knew that she would react unfavorably to Kallou, once again, speaking. Kai was paranoid that the other girl would share more and more of her secrets.

"I agree. You are all forbidden from broaching the subject with her; I assume you all know the consequences of such an offense." Tsunade spoke smoothly, hoping to easily iron out any issues. Shikamaru, ever inquisitive, though usually in much a more reserved manner, surprised her by speaking up yet again.

"So what if we tell her? Why are _we _being punished for that? It's a minor detail," snapped Shikamaru, who most had forgotten was still awake. Appearing lazy often worked in his favor. He'd have been an excellent spy in another life.

"Because. You're antagonizing a volatile, unstable patient. But, by _all means—_be my guest!" Tsunade snapped angrily, flailing her hands wide in disgust. Remembering her professional side, she quickly corrected herself. "By law I'm required to tell you _not_ to do so. So, do not provoke her. Are we completely understood?"

Shikamaru made a face before closing his eyes again. Kankuro rolled his eyes, letting his gaze drop to the floor; the rest of his face twisted into an ugly mask of disgust. Sighing wearily at his open show of moodiness, Kallou glanced over to wear Sakura sat. The cotton-candy cutie was being unnaturally silent.

"What about video games? If we buy them ourselves?" Naruto interjected excitedly, his face so hopefully that Tsunade almost felt bad for crushing his excitement.

"No—too violent," she replied with the utmost resolution.

"Wait!" Sakura said, her sudden outburst causing Tsunade to look a little bit taken-aback. "The uniforms—they're wretched. Can we change them? Or better yet, can we wear our own clothing?"

Tsunade furrowed her brow. "You already do wear your own clothing."

"Yeah, our pajamas!" retorted Kiba, his brows coming together in an innocent protest. He found wearing his own pajamas a ridiculous waste, because he hardly wore anything to bed.

"I don't see why not..." murmured Tsunade, making an irritated face. "I'll run it by the committee. I don't suppose they'll be too tickled about it, but I'll do my best."

"If they refuse, then at least let us alter these foul things," requested Naruto. It sounded more like an order, but that was just his terrible manners showing through. "They're hideous and uncomfortable."

"All right, all right—whatever. Look—time's up for today. I'll see you all soon," rushed Tsunade. She was out the door before any of them had even stood up, as was the assistant.

Gaara, who'd been silent for the entirety of the session, slowly stood up. He remained slightly hunched over as they headed back to their wing. All of the things occurring between his ears were weighing him down so heavily it took too much effort to stand at his full stature. As they slowly ambled back to their wing, he turned left instead of the usual straight path through the hallway intersection.

"Oi! Where're you goin'?" called out Kankuro, anxiety riddling his voice. Gaara casually raised his right hand, gave him the middle finger, and continued on his merry-well way. Kankuro groaned heavily before sighing in defeat. "Give 'em hell, then!"

"What the hell is going on? What do you mean '_bye?'"_ demanded Sasuke, his eyes narrowing with distaste as Kankuro took his sweet time answering.

"Like I said, he is off to raise hell," Kankuro said with a smirk. His eyes were dark with mystery as his smirk merged into the territory of a sneer. "It's what he _does._"

Sasuke frowned, undecided as to whether or not he believed the stout answer. He raised his brows and then dropped them, admitting defeat. He'd find out soon enough.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

WALLS, WALLS WALS, and more fucking walls; they were lightly padded with patchy, off-white cushions. Urine and blood stains were randomly splashed across the wall; no one had attempted to clean them. If they had, no one had done a very good job. There was the occasional blood-laden handprint on the wall, or a large patch on the floor where blood had accumulated in a puddle. The stale air reeked of excrement, body odor, and the smell of cold wetness. It was not a comfortable place to be, even without the binding straightjacket that hugged her arms into an immobile position. She tried not to think of what extremes had been reached to cause such a large amount of filth and blood to accumulate.

Kai stared at the walls, completely tuned-out from reality; she was in an altogether different place, where none of _this_ existed. The walls, which she couldn't even see in the darkness of the small room, felt as though they were closing in on her. There wasn't even enough light to see her fingers directly in front of her face. The only reason she was certain of the deplorable state of the walls was that she'd been craning her neck around her to view her surroundings when she'd been dragged down there. Outside the room it was cold and clinical, the small solitary rooms like cells in a prison. Inside the room was an atmosphere comparable to that of a pit—as low as you could get so deep down that even the light doesn't dare to dwell within its confines.

She was normally a fan of the dark—it helped her to sleep. Down here, however, the dark was no longer her friend that provided her shelter from the monsters of the light. Down here, she was in the thick of it. The dark was constant, disconcerting. Night and day blended endlessly together until they were one and the same. The only way to differentiate from night and day was the arrival of the meal. She couldn't remember what number she was on, which had vastly screwed up her time perception.

Now knowing the exact time that meals arrived helped to tell time all the same. The meal times were deliberately set at different times, never to arrive at the same time twice for one person on the same stay. The lights from the hall didn't even show through the slot in the door. There was a metal panel that was lifted from the other side of the door and locked into place. Metal tracks were inserted and locked into place as well. The tray was placed on those tracks, given a light push; the edges of the tray prevented spillage, but the tray would tip to its side sometimes if the food bringers weren't careful. When the food was on the floor, the tracks retracted and the metal panel was secured back into place.

The dark was purposeful, just as the varying meal times were. It threw off their sense of time, effectively disguising the time of day it was. The only way to keep track at _all_ was to try to pay attention to meal times. Kai'd already forgotten her body still unfocused from the buzz of the after-effects of all the unnecessary medicine. There was no down time here in Solitary. This was the domain of a time-honored ritual—waiting.

Kai hummed softly to herself, her eyes drifting lazily. She mumbled to herself, and then began to sing softly, pushing away the reasons for hating this and focusing on the letting those reasons go as best she could. In and out. Wish... Wooosh... Wish... Woosh... Those were the sounds of her breathing.

Kai tried to relax, reminding herself of all the reasons she'd had to do this to herself. They were getting too close. Kallou was no longer to be trusted. Even as she tried to remind herself of the good that would come of this, she couldn't deny the cramped, painful state of her arms. She wiggled them as much as she could until they both popped. Her eyes saw sparks and then she closed them, inviting the swirl of drug-induced images with open—or rather cramped—arms. The sparks and swirls whisked her off to somewhere grand—somewhere she could simply exist and be alive with her own self.

Was it what she really wanted to be free of this place? No- it was unrealistic. She was one of the patients that would probably spend the rest of her life in the institution, and it was thus useless to wish for an escape- but hey- let the girl dream. But, then again, only a crazy girl would dream, hope, and pray for something she didn't even want, huh?

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SHE WANTED TO talk to them; conversing as they once had was long gone, and she couldn't bring herself to forgive them. Which was odd; she was notorious for _not_ being able to hold a grudge.

Kai spent most of the first and second day back holed up in her room- despite the fact that they had a group session- her music blaring from the iHome that she'd bought a while back. If one of the girls would knock on her door and ask- no matter how politely- to turn the music down, Kai would ignore them. If they were polite, she'd leave the music as it was. But if they were rude about it, she'd blare her music as long as it would go. However, if one of the boys asked- any of them at all- to turn it down, she'd usually comply.

At night she'd come out and watch TV, her eyes half-glazed as she watched. Kankuro and Gaara- both insomniacs though the degrees greatly varied- were almost always out there watching TV. She talked nightly with Kankuro, though usually talked more _at_ Gaara, because it was very rare for him to reply. But she didn't mind. She rather liked that he didn't talk- which both Kankuro and Gaara suspected was because of her resentment to Kallou- and reminded him of it every so often.

Sometimes Sakura would join them, and Kai would be at least civil to her. She tried to play nice, but she couldn't bring herself to _mean _any of the things she said to Sakura. Sakura gave up after a few nights of it, and so did Kallou. Kallou talked every so often, deciding to share her opinions after she realized that Kai was mad at her- no matter what she said.

Kai's face clouded with malice whenever Kallou spoke, and Sakura knew that Kai was quite literally murdering Kallou with her eyes. Kallou tried not to notice, but it was hard when Kai threw things and stomped back to her room. It was a sudden change that no one- not even Kai- could have predicted.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"GROUP SESSIONS _AGAIN!?" _Groaned Sakura, smacked her forehead angrily off the bulletin board. "Why do we have them- like _all the time?!_"

Everyone shrugged, only Naruto bothering to answer her. "They're keeping tabs on us?"

"Meh. Who cares? It's not like we're _going _anywhere." Kiba grumbled, folding his arms across his chest in a stubborn manner.

Sakura rolled her eyes in irritation, grabbing her book before they could be escorted off to session without it. She was honestly sick of them; she failed to even see the point in the anymore. But, there would be a point to this lesson.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"OKAY. SO TODAY is more of a _meeting _than a session," announced Tsunade, wheeling a giant chalkboard out of the closet and into therapy room. The board was medium sized, constructed of wood.

"Um. Question!" Kai waived her hand vigorously in the air, causing Tsunade to sigh in acknowledgment. "What are we talking about? Fall classes starting again?"

"Yes, Kai," Tsunade answered briskly, collecting a piece of chalk with her well-manicured hand.

"Classes? You mean I'm going to have to go to _school_ here?" burst Sakura, earning a surprisingly pitying glance from Shikamaru.

"Yes. I've talked to the people handling your case, as well as your parents and relatives. They don't believe you will be... rehabilitated in time to finish your final year of schooling." Tsunade's voice was clipped and clinical but her face bore a more sympathetic expression.

"How long did they say I'd be in here? And _who_ said that? Rehabilitated? How the _fuck _do you expect to rehabilitate when I'm around _these _whack-jobs!" spewed Sakura, her livid features startling in the off-lighting of the room. She looked to be on the verge of vomiting.

"Long enough for me to know better than to tell you out-right. Your parents, were in fact the ones who said they wished you to get better adjusted before returning to a more natural environment. They said you wouldn't be ready. It would just make things harder for you to see all your friends and have to deal with their emotions on top of your own." Tsunade offered a small smile as tears of disbelief began to form in Sakura's eyes. "Cheer up. It's not _so _bad here. You don't have to worry about fitting in; you and the other whack-jobs get along just fine. You're all in the same boat."

Tsunade laughed at her own words; Sakura glowered at her for a moment before letting out a small, thick laugh. The older woman was right. Sakura wiped furiously at her eyes, ashamed for crying to so easily, especially in front of everyone. Gaara rolled his eyes, thinking back to when he was a child and how he would have loved to escape his family. They'd tortured him. He was glad to be rid of them; he'd show her hurt and give her a reason to cry, as well.

Sakura sighed heavily, her thoughts roaming from this to that, subject to boring subject. She let herself zone out as Tsunade moved on to discuss how they were to determine what classes they wanted in accordance with what classes were actually available to them. When she moved on to list them, though, Sakura was not the only one to be slipping a little further off. She tried to hang onto reality, but it took too much effort.

She was mildly amused to find that if she let her unfocus, then quickly refocus them again, it looked like the whole world was quaking. She made the room shake again, repressing a giggle as Gaara's chair toppled over in her head. She continued her pseudo-mother-naturism until a hand tapped on her shoulder.

Sakura jolted out of her fantastic daydream, surprised to see Kallou holding a large handful of papers and brochures out to her. The white-haired girl offered a small smile when Sakura accepted the papers. "You zoned," she said, biting her lip. "I figured you'd have missed what she was talking about, so..."

Sakura nodded, glancing down at the stack of papers.

"Look, I know I probably shouldn't have told you things about Kai that made her mad, but... that doesn't mean _we_ shouldn't be friends, huh? You'd think I'd be a good secret keeper, but... sometimes I need to talk. It gets boring being quiet all the time."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, too... I didn't mean to avoid you, but I just didn't want to her freak out, again..." Sakura averted her eyes to the papers, reading the title '_FUTURE GOAL PLANNING.' _Yeah. Because she had plans for the future... "Do you think Kai will forgive you?"

"I dunno, I doubt it... but I'm not worried. Life is mysterious, and so are boys."

Sakura smiled at the brief truism, and then stood up. "Wed' better get going before everyone starts to think we've gone AWAL."

Sakura beamed when Kallou returned her smile, and then sighed with an air of content. That was _one_ problem off of her endless list of shit to deal with.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"SO WHERE DID you go last night?" Kankuro asked carefully, being sure not to anger his brother. It was later in the day, perhaps pushing into the wee hours of the next day. He still had to be weary of his brother, lest he wanted a fist shoved deep into his skull. When Gaara only shrugged, Kankuro rolled his eyes, looking away for a few seconds.

Gaara's brain swam with the memories of where he'd been; he knew he couldn't tell his brother what he'd been up to _just_ yet. He'd been to see the nighttime secretary; Kankuro had no idea, but their sister Temari had taken the job as the night secretary in order to keep an eye on them and make sure that they were well. Previously, she'd lived hours from them in their hometown, but she told him she'd missed him. He hadn't missed her, only her quick, witty responses to his sarcasm. Gaara had been to see her so he could dig up dirt on all of his roomates. His sister, if one he cared so little about could be called that, had been hesitant at first, but her resolved had dissolved when he asked again in a surprisingly sweet and polite tone. He had plans that required this information. Sharing it with Kankuro just yet would ruin the whole point of getting it. Besides that, Kankuro would flip on his sister for even thinking about working in a place like this.

The information itself—well, Temari had yet to get it to him. But that wasn't a problem. She'd get him the information and Gaara would make good on his bargain with her. He'd keep an eye on Kankuro. She knew that he was the more emotional of the two boys.

Temari would get the information for him on a Friday, which gave him that night to read them. He'd return them to her by the end of the night. Tsunade would know something was up if they weren't there in the morning. Saturday night Temari would take them home, carefully copy everything in the exact order it was placed in the files, and then return everything to the files, just as they'd been before. Copying them at work was too risky.

It was risk worth taking, however. Gaara would make good use of it by terrorizing each and every one of them—save for Kankuro, as was the condition with his sister. He would them all around his pinkie like a child conned their father into buying them what they wanted. Not that his father had ever done that for him. But in this case, he'd be unstoppable.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

THE DARK HID the expression on his face as he stared at the television, the flashes of light playing across his features in quick succession. Gaara turned his face up, studying the darkened tiles of the ceiling. They were different from the ones in his room. He hadn't mentally categorized these ones yet.

Glancing sideways at the sound of a door opening, the ginger-haired boy listened to the soft ruffles of footfalls that he'd memorized by heart. Gaara didn't do anything to acknowledge her preent, but she gently waved at him nonetheless. Kankuro stirred slightly as he plopped down, his arm twitching as she leaned back to watch television.

Slurring her words together, she asked him what time it was, her eyes only half open as she turned to look at him. Her voice as well as her entire body, was still heavy with the last dregs of sleep.

Gaara held up two fingers, signifying the hour of night. "Two? Shit. I can't sleep; too fucking loud..."

Gaara cast her an incredulous look, brows raising in confusion. Kai grunted with exasperation, holding her face in her hands. She curled up into a ball on the couch, only lifting her head from her pillow to talk to him.

"You're _used _to people screaming all night." Boy, she had him there. "You tune that shit out. I can't. Yet. Hopefully." Her head dropped a little as her eyes crossed with fatigue. "I'm so used to my music now that it just doesn't even help. I need a break, I suppose..." She was rambling now; he rather wished that she'd just shut up. "Their screaming sort of... carries over my... music. I..."

Her head was back on the pillow, eyes close. Kankuro grunted, and Gaara lookedup slowly. Kankuro opened a bleary eye, snorting, "That was fast." Then he, too, was back asleep, his soft snores loud in Gaara's perceptive ears.

The television lulled them to sleep almost instantly, but it was merely a tool for him to pass the time with. Why didn't he get to sleep? Why was _he _forced to live a life of perpetual awareness? With all the sedatives he was on, one would think he'd be near comatose twenty-four-seven. It seemed viciously unfair to him that they should get to sleep so easily when he could not...

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

GAARA FLICKED THE light on only after he'd silently shut the door and laid a blanket across the bottom, preventing any light from peeking through. This room was unlike all the others. It was so foreign... the white walls had been painted to resemble a forest, and there were little animals sticking out here and there. There were pictures and things that she'd drawn hung all over the walls, and he was sure that he'd seen everyone of their wing-mates.

Gaara shook his head, knowing that he was getting off track. Gaara started the hunt for what he needed, shamelessly overturning her bed-side table and rooting through her drawers.

He'd hunted for a good ten minutes, effectively tearing her room up in the process. Clothing- mostly changes of uniform- was strewn across the floor from when he'd upended the drawers, and books and trivial trinkets, as well, littered the floor from when he'd ran his arm across the top of the dresser looking for the little, green, squared-off object and the medium sized black box type doo-hicky.

The corners of his mouth turned up mischievously when he found the black box, and he hurriedly plugged it into the wall. He swore under his breath when he remembered that he was still in need of the other part.

He yanked the drawers open again, growling when all of them were empty. He dropped down on his knees, sifting through the mess he'd made. He brushed the books aside with a sweep of his arms, sliding his hand along through the clothes. He moved his hands closer to the dresser, feeling under the edge. He delighted soundlessly when his hand curled around the object.

Gaara lifted it to his face, studying it closely. He looked to the black box, and then smirked. This would be simple. He spun his finger on the smaller piece, looking for the right track. He smirked slightly as he slipped it onto the bigger piece of equipment, having already cranked up the volume.

The sounds that blared from the iHome were loud and inhuman- the wail of heavy metal. Gaara laughed mirthlessly as the sounds of screams rang out as he jerked people from their sleep, and the loud thumping of people falling from their beds and rest areas. There were many sounds of waking, as well as the sound of death threats.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SAKURA WOKE TO the sound of shouting, loud thumping, and the blaring of music that she recognized but couldn't place.

"Sleep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tight..." Sakura had heard it somewhere before, but she couldn't quite place it... She rolled out of bed when she heard a feminine squeal of pain.

Sakura opened her door and stepped out, only to jump back so as to avoid her feet being squished. Kankuro and Gaara were rolling around on the floor, Gaara's wiry frame bending easily under his brother's grip. Gaara had one advantage however- he knew his brother's weak spots. Gaara would strike his brother on the shoulder with a chop like motion, earning a grunt of pain each time.

However Kankuro would smack his brother against whatever surface was closest, and each timeGaara's head would snap back into it. But Kankuro was tired, and his resolve was wearing down. Gaara flipped Kankuro over onto his stomach, a position he knew his brother would hate being pinned in. He did it specifically because he knew his brother could not stand it.

Sakura furrowed her brows as she noticed everyone else watching, some with interest and others with apprehension. She watched as Gaara struggled to hold his brother in the seemingly innocuous position. Gaara twisted his brother's arm around behind his back- the arm of the same shoulder he'd been striking.

Sakura closed her eyes as Kankuro cried out, the sound of Gaara's laughter rising above it. She opened her eyes at the sound of someone trying to intervene. She opened her eyes in time to see Gaara strike out at Kai, who's glare didn't waver despite how obviously she'd flinched.

"Stop it!" Sakura intervened, trying to yank Gaara off of the larger, more muscular boy. IT was odd that Gaara could beat him with only that amount of struggle. He was already giving her hell, wasn't he? What was that he could do to her for opposing him? She wasn't afraid to die, only of the pain that so often accompanied it. But pain is temporary, and if he chose to kill her the pain would end. It always did.

Naruto covered his eyes, curling up into a ball as Sasuke watched the scene with great disinterest. Shikamaru hadn't woken- his pills kept him coasting, low and unaware. Kiba growled, prepared to pounce, but then he would pull back uncertainly. He didn't know what to do, other than yip and bark every few seconds.

There was a loud popping sound as Gaara reached for Sakura, his grip on Kankuro's arm remaining as tight as ever. The sudden shift in weight as he grabbed for her throat effectively yanked Kankuro's arm from the sock. Kankuro, surprisingly, held back whatever scream of discomfort threatened to splurge forth by burying his face into the carpet.

Kiba pounced forward, shoving Gaara, who was already moving, off of his brother. Gaara pulled himself easily from Kiba's grasp, grimacing as he skulked back to his room. Sakura could wait. He would get her back in due time.

Kankuro groaned as he rolled over, his face reddening in embarrassment as he realized that everyone had witnessed his defeat. When Kiba made an effort to help him, Kankuro pulled himself free of his fellow brunette's grip, shaking his head stubbornly.

Stretching himself out on the floor, Kankuro slowed his breathing and closed his eyes. His body went lax as he breathed slowly in and out, his facial features smoothing out as he blocked the pain from his mind. He bent his arm at a ninety-degree angle, wincing in the process. He rotated the arm inward, pulling with his other arm to make an 'L' shape. A grimace crossed his face as he forced his arm away from his body, the upper portion of his arm remaining frozen in place. He sharply exhaled as eyes popped open.

Sakura watched with genuine interest as he relaxed his arm and tried again, biting his lip as he pushed the arm until it reached the floor. His chin jerked when it popped back into place and he let out a low, humorless laugh. He pull his arm back in toward his chest, and closed his eyes as he went back to resting.

Sakura grabbed two belts from her room, slapping his protesting hand away. She started to tie one to his wrist, starting to knot it when Kankuro snorted, "I _have _a sling. It'snot like I learned to pop it back in just now."

Sakura sighed, stepping back from him. "Sorry for bothering, then." She crossed her arms as he started back to his room then faltered.

"Err... Awe, well fuck. He won't fuck with it again." Kankuro moved to shrug, letting out a strangled gasp as his shoulder seared with pain. "I hope."

Naruto stared after Kankuro as he disappeared into their room. He sighed in confusion. "'Night." Wandering back to their room, he carefully opened the door, unsure of what to expect. None of them were. Sakura, Kallou, and Kai plopped down on the couch in unison, all hope of sleep gone.

"What the _hell _just happened?" whispered Kai, her voice low with disbelief.

"I think we've just been pranked..." moaned Sakura, closing her eyes.

Kallou rested her chin on her hands, sighing softly. "No, his arm _was_ dislocated."

"Not that, stupid. The music," snarled Kai. Sakura groaned.

"Would you two just _cut it out? _We're sick of seeing you fighting! At least _try _to be nice, Kai!" Sakura's face was dark with anger, but she actually expected Kai to apologize. That was a poor assumption; these were people who hardly ever did as you expected them.

Kai flung the pillow she'd been cling to across the room, stomping over to the chair on the other side of the room. She promptly curled and went to sleep; at least, she pretended to do so, anyway. Sasuke ambled off to his room and Kiba dragged himself off to his own as well. Sakura let out a low scream of frustration, burying her face in the couch.

"Why does everyone have to make this so hard?" she asked Kallou, one of her only friends at the moment.

"Well, _you _sure as hell don't make it easy," laughed Kallou. She shook her hair out of her face with a soft smile. Sakura sighed, flopping back on the couch as Kallou stood up. "You going to bed or what?"

"Nah; can't sleep." Sakura shrugged against the cushions. "I needa think." Kallou nodded at Sakura's words and headed off to her room. Sakura stayed on the couch, spread across the corner seat, her arms rubbing delightfully against the soft, comfortable material.

'_Why do we have such a nice couch? Do they know we sleep on the couch sometimes, or what?'_ Things didn't seem to add up here, but it didn't bother her too much. What did she care? People thought she was crazy. Her opinion had no eminence.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

THE FEEL OF weight settling onto the couch stirred her from her sleep. Sakura looked up to see Kankuro painstakingly situating himself off the couch. "Why don't you sleep in your own room anymore, Kankuro?" Her eyes were closed again before he answered.

"I could ask you the same," he mused. "It's less of a hassle, and it's better company.

"Uhm, thanks, I guess..." Sakura cracked an eye open, wondering what he meant.

"I didn't mean _you,_ " snorted Kankuro. He grinned rather sheepishly when she glared at him. She noticed the color creeping into his cheeps and was perplexed for a brief second. That was the most of a non-violent emotion she'd ever seen out of him.

She pushed the small revelation aside, and closed her eyes again. "Whatever..."

"Gaara's all pissed off because he can't fall asleep out here. I think he is jealous," chortled Kankuro. When he burst into giggles, Sakura looked up in obvious confusion, her thin pink brows knitting together.

"Are you _mental?" _Something was definitely not right with him, or her moronic question. Of course he was.

"Shi-Shikamaru gave me—" Kankuro's giggles escalated and he reddened further as his shoulders began to quake quite painfully under the force of his out-of-character giggles. "Oh! Pills! I asked—" Kankuro held his breath, trying to control his laughter. When the chuckles subsided, he breathed in and out slowly. "_No_ idea what he gave me, but it's not _too_ painful anymore."

"Ah-ha," Sakura said with a nod. She waited for him to stop giggling before continuing. "Why do you let your brother get the best of you?"

The question took him by surprise; his giggles ceased and he stared at her for a moment. "I—where the _hell_ do you get off asking me that?"

"I _saw _you. You could've killed him. You're strong enough to do it." Sakura was enjoying this. She didn't know if she was gathering information or just rubbing it in his face that she knew something about him, but she could see why Gaara found it entertaining. "You held back."

Kankuro glared at her, then his resolve softened. "He's my little brother," he mumbled. " I can't hurt him."

"But he can hurt you! If I was you, I wouldn't—"

"Well you're _not_ me!" snapped Kankuro, his eyes hardening over again in the blink of an eye. The glare he fixed her with now frightened her more than the one he'd given her in the library. It was then that Sakura realized she'd not been using her better judgment in playing games with him—even if he was flying on pain medication. He probably knew any game she could think to play; Gaara was his brother after all.

"You have _no idea_ what we've been through together. If you _were_ me, you'd wish you'd never been born. Where do you get off trying to get into my head when I'm fucking high, little girl?" Kankuro growled as he rolled off the couch. "You'd better watch yourself, Sakura—"the way he said her name was so cruel and mocking it sent shivers down her spine. "Because so help me God, I will rip that pretty little face right off your skull and feed it to the birds."

She could hear him mutter the words 'stupid bitch' as he stomped back to his room, even though he wasn't overly loud with his swearing.

"Silly little girl; do you enjoy putting your foot in your mouth?" Sakura jolted at the sound of Gaara's voice. She rolled over, only to be startled by his close proximity.

Sakura smirked in irritation. "Do you enjoy being a royal prick? Because it seems to me you revel a bit too much in your assholity." Sakura had borrowed Kai's word, but the other girl would never know. It was for a good cause.

"Yes, actually, it's been my hobby for as long as I can remember," he hissed. His snide tone mocked her, his eyes narrowing victoriously as he saw the anger swelling within her.

Gaara practically threw himself down on the couch next to her, knowing full-well that there was the other whole other side of the couch available for him to sit on. "It's your own fault. You know that."

"Huh? What was my fault?!" Sakura crossed her arms angrily, fixing him with the stubborn glare she'd spent so long working on. It was still childish and ineffective, doing little to convey her demands of an answer. She was still scared of him, despite her curiosity.

"Kankuro's arm." Gaara smirked at her indignant expression. He was a little surprised by her calm response.

"Pray tell; how is _that_ my fault?"

"If you hadn't provoked me, I wouldn't have been so intent on choking the life of you. Henceforth, Kankuro's arm would've been fine," he purred. Sakura was so deathly sick of that stupid smirk.

"Look, _pal¸ _I don't know what sort of warped logic you've got going on for you, but _you_ hurt your brother, not me. You've not even got the decency to apologize to him. I'm not the one who hurt him, and I'm not about to take responsibility for _you_ fucking up." Sakura stubbornly turned away from him, suddenly interested in television.

The little hairs on the back of her neck stood up when Gaara leaned closer. She stiffened when she felt his hot breath in her ear, "You're playing with fire, girl. You'd better be ready to get burned."

His hand was hot on the back of her neck, the rough pressure both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. She turned herself to look at him, noticing just how startlingly close his face was to hers.

She didn't know what she'd expected, but whatever _had _been expected never happened. He calmly sat back to watch TV, snickering at the trailer for a horror movie. Sakura rolled her eyes as she turned back to the screen, almost immediately feeling his eyes on her again. She couldn't tell if she felt uncomfortable or empowered.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"FLU SHOTS, EVERYONE," announced Shizune, Tsunade's assistant. Her dark hair denied her bright, bubbly personality. Gaara found it simply repulsive for someone to be so chipper at this hour of the day.

Despite the few moans and groans, the group was relatively unmoved by the prospect of being stabbed with needles in order to attain their immunizations. There were a few other people in the room, each of the uniformly normal looking.

"Alright, I want the wings to stick together. We're going to take the wings one at time, just to speed things up," explained Shizune, pushing the South Wing gang into exam room four, locking the door behind them as she went to get her materials.

Gaara plopped down into one of the chairs, his brother doing the same, though he kept his arm clamped to his side as he did so. Naruto and Kai, naturally, hopped onto the exam table while Kiba chose to sit on the edge of it. Sasuke leaned coolly against the wall, smirking at Sakura and Kallou. They had nowhere to sit or lean.

Sakura snorted in indignation, but quickly smiled when Naruto and Kai hopped off the exam table. "Why _thank_ you!"

Sakura plopped down in Kai's seat, knowing that she would take it as a personal offence if Kallou sat there. Shizune walked in then, the little basket of needles held carefully in her hand. Two burly-looking men accompanied her; they were there to ensure that everyone took their shots like gentle-ladies and gentleman.

"First up... Uchiha, Sasuke." Shizune looked up expectantly as Sasuke stepped forward, dutifully rolling up his sleeve. Naruto blushed slightly at the curl of the bicep, halting himself from licking his lips. He wasn't completely over the line of his own sexuality, or if he was a borderline; a bisexual. He couldn't be sure. But he didn't mind so much. He'd find someone for certain this way.

Sasuke's facial expression didn't register any changes as the needle passed beneath his skin, though his jaw muscles constricted slightly. "All-righty! You're good to go," Shizune said with a dazzling smile. Sasuke averted his eyes as she smoothed a Sponge-bob band-aid over the small break in his skin. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the cartoon, jerking his sleeve down. "Uzumaki, Naruto."

Naruto stepped forward, his face dark with anticipation. He hated needles. He winced when Shizune administered the shot, rubbing his shoulder as she soon as the needle was removed from his arm. He smiled when he received his band aid—it was colorful, much to his liking—and pulled down his sleeve.

"Sabaku Gaara?" Gaara didn't move from his seat, instead opting to pull off his shirt from where he sat. Naruto stared a second before pulling his eyes away when Gaara shot him a glare so strong Naruto thought his heart might stop. For someone so vastly underweight, Gaara had a good bit of musculature.

Gaara's gaze lazily consumed the room, the corners of his mouth twitching up when Kai caught him staring at her. She was going to get him back for trashing her room. She'd screamed this morning when she went in there to change out of her pajamas.

The needle slipped past the barrier of his skin, but his face didn't recognize pain—if he'd even felt any. He glanced around the room coolly, his gaze falling upon Sakura. He glared slightly, t he expression of surprise on Sakura's face equating to something along the line of priceless. The needle slipped out again. The band-aid placed over the only mark of this exchange bore Spongebob, flashing a thumbs-up to Patrick, who stared stupidly out of the rubbery material.

"Haruno Sakura..." sighed Shizune, waiting for Sakura to pull off her jacket. She offered a small smile when Sakura bared her skin, waiting for the shot. Sakura returned the smile with an even smaller, less enthusiastic one of her own. Closing her eyes as they sprayed the numbing solution, Sakura squeezed them tight when the needle passed through her skin. She heard a snicker, but when she opened her eyes everyone was silent. She suspected Gaara had been the noise she'd heard. She rolled her eyes, something she knew she did a lot, and then grimaced as the needle was pulled out of her flesh. It had hurt more coming out than it had going in. She didn't look at her band-aid, instead opting to quickly yank her jacket back on. A dull throb pulsed outward from her shoulder, coinciding perfectly with the beat of her heart.

"Inuzuka Kiba." His shot went quickly. He'd already rolled his sleeve up; he was very reserved about his discomfort, if there was any at all. He chatted idly with Kallou while he got his shot, telling her that it wasn't so bad and she didn't have to worry. He didn't know it wasn't the pain she was worried about.

"Nara Shikamaru," announced Shizune. Shikamaru sighed as he lazily pulled up his sleeve, a lazy smile stretching across face at the sting of the needle. It wasn't his style of getting high, but using needles was quicker than pills. He closed his eyes as the band-aid was placed and let himself drift back to sleep. He wasn't always this tired, but being around these morons sapped him of his strength, or the will to have any.

"Sabaku Kankuro." Why did they always forget the 'no?' Kankuro grumbled something about his arm and Shizune wordlessly slipped the sleeve up and applied the numbing solution. He blinked rapidly a few times when the shot was inserted. He was sick as he reminded himself of what he'd dreaded as a child. He blanched at the thought and Shizune raised a well-sculpted brow. "Are you all right?"

Kankuro nodded, angry that he looked weak in front of them. Shizune sighed, moving on with the list. "Very well. Otokogi Kai." A few people raised their brows at her last name, causing Kai to redden in embarrassment. It meant something along the lines of being courageous, and chivalrous, but she was definitely not courageous so much as stupid when it came to giving up with certain things.

She rolled up sleeve, ducking her head. She giggled slightly when the needle broke the skin. After she received her band-aid, she skipped over to Naruto so they could compare.

"Ketsueki Kallou."

Kallou nervously pulled up her sleeve, blocking out the surprised reactions of her roommates. Scars circled and crisscrossed over her upper arms, some startlingly white while others were dark and purpled with age. She didn't wince at all as the needle was slipped in, her face somewhat peaceful as Shizune pulled it out. Shizune did her best to pretend not to notice the abundance of scarring.

"That should do it!" chirped Shizune, her face radiant. Sakura longed to slap that silly smile off of her face, though she couldn't place the reason for her sudden hostility. "We have another group, so you all need to head off to the library, okay?"

Kai whooped, and Sakura smirked. It was about time they went back there.

Shizune opened the door, letting them out of the small room; they hastily obliged, filing out as quickly as they could. Sakura moved around Gaara who was moving purposefully slow, and then started to race with Naruto and Kai. They giggled as they ran, elbowing each other in their efforts to surpass one another.

"Oof!" "AH!" "What the _fuck!" _They all toppled to the floor when they careened into a barrier that hadn't been there a few moments before. They looked up to see a tall man with tattoos covering his skin. His skin looked to have taken on a permanent, smoky haze.

"Watch it, runts." His voice was low and gravely. Naruto, from this angle, could easily see the unnatural points to the man's teeth.

"I beg your pardon?" spat Sakura, her polite phrase dripping with derision. "_You_ stepped in front of us, dumb shit."

"Ah, but you ran into _me,_" countered the taller man. He smiled sardonically, baring his fang-like teeth.

"How tall are you?" inquired Naruto, helping Kai up.

"Six-foot-three, short shit," the taller man smirked, proud of his impressive stature.

"Ah, I didn't know they stacked shit that high," Naruto said loudly, his conversational tone only adding insult to injury.

"Oh, no!" he mocked, his voice taking on a creepy tone. "Them's fightin' words! You'd better watch it, shorty." He tucked a hand under Kai's chin, lifting her gaze. "Don't want to trip and fall again, do we, hmm?"

He yanked on her hair, before she could even protest and then smiled as Naruto and a few others stepped forward. Their menacing factors kicking in perfectly. No one picked on their own but _them._ That was a right reserved specifically to them. No one else.

"Aw, lookie. The little boys are coming after their bitches. So which one of you is the queer?" All of the boys—who consisted of the brothers and Sasuke—either snorted in irritation, or crossed their arms over their chests. None of them would admit that—Kankuro had no idea, and Gaara wouldn't admit he knew a gay man and was sort of... friends with him. Sasuke reserved the right to not out himself unless it was necessary.

The bizarre, blue-skinned man gave Kai's hair another tug, only letting go when Sasuke stepped forward, a snarl on his lips. The man stayed his ground, challenging them to take another step forward. Kankuro and Gaara closed in on him immediately, though Sasuke was the one to pull the girls away from him. He backed away, raising his hands as he offered up a wide, sinister smile in return. "All right, you got me. I'll see you all in _class_."

"What?" Sakura's head snapped up as she glared at him. Kai massaged her head where her hair had been jerked, mystified by how calm and collected Naruto appeared.

"You'll see!" He chirped in a strange sing-song voice. He stomped away from them to go get his shot.

As they walked to the library, Kai walked along side Kankuro. "Thanks for saving our asses back there... That creep was huge!"

Kankuro fixed with an utterly bored look, but she beamed at him anyway. "I couldn't let him make fun of you." Kai's smile widened. "That's _my_ job." Kai smacked herself in the face, walking with her head in her hands.

"_Ass monkey..._"

"Wh—Did you just call me an... _ass _monkey?" asked Kankuro, stifling his giggles. It still hurt too much to laugh.

"Yes; would you prefer douche nozzle?" She asked innocently. When he giggled and shook his head 'no,' she nodded in satisfaction. "Good. I think I found my new pet name for you. I might call you monk for short."

He knew she was joking and had no intention of calling him that, but laughing felt kind of good. Unless you were laughing at Gaara or Sasuke. Why? Because they'd beat the living shit out of you. Maybe that's a lie. Yes, I suppose it is. Because they'd kill you. Short and simply put.

**Author's Note- Had to end this somewhere! :D So do you like it? I know there isn't much of Kiba and Kallou, or Kankuro and Kai, and but you voted for mostly A- Gaasaku! DUH! It's the main theme! lol. :) So do you like?**

**Now... Can you guess who the big scary guy is? Go on! Guess! I'll tell if your right or wrong! :D**

**Also... no options for this chapter. Okay... I'll give you two!**

**A-Their first class is with Kakashi.**

**B- Their first class is with Orochimaru**

**C- FREE REQUEST! Tell me what _you_ want to happen. :)**

**P.s. When do you want the lemons to come into play? I've worked on it a little bit... and I've got someone to help me! :D SasuSaku-kun! :D**

**Reviews are sex- jk, but review please! :)**

**Lauren.**


	8. Well, Because I Can

"GOOD MORNING, CLASS," purred the strange man at the front of the room. As he spoke, he swept his long, black hair over his shoulders and away from his face, revealing his yellow eyes, the pupils of which were eerily elongated. There was a slight murmur as some of them replied back with a 'good morning,' but the room was otherwise silent. "My name is Orochimaru. We will address each other first names in this class. Now, I have situated your desks into a circular form, as you have no doubt noticed. I have done this so that you can all face each other as we go around the room and introduce ourselves. I would like you to give your name, tell me something about yourself, and then the next person will do the same thing. Do we all understand this?"

There was a light murmuring. Orochimaru frowned. "There will be no avoiding your turn. _Do-we-all-understand-this?"_

_"_What a _prick..._" Kankuro muttered under his breath. Orochimaru, who stood a few desks over from him, smiled at Kankuro in a bizarre fashion. When Kankuro leaned back defiantly, the teacher moved to him in a few quick, strangely lithe and fluid steps.

"What is _your _name? I think we'll start with _you,"_ hissed Orochimaru, placing a hand on Kankuro's shoulder. The younger of the two flinched at the sudden contact, his face contorting into an angered snarl when Orochimaru dug his long, pointed nails into his shoulder. Kankuro groaned slightly, his mouth snapping shut when his teacher wiggled his fingers. "I can't talk with you _digging_-" Kankuro broke off when Orochimaru prodded him once more before releasing him. "In my shoulder..."

All of the patients from South Wing were giving Orochimaru the evil eye—which was what he wanted. Orochimaru listened carefully as Kankuro talked, the tape recorder he'd left in plain view recording everything. The next day there would be no recorder; it was a means of determining their real personalities versus how they reacted when they knew they were being watched.

When Kankuro faltered, yet again, in introducing himself, Orochimaru sighed and announced the directions once more. "Name- and something you're good at, perhaps?" Kankuro opened his mouth and Orochimaru snorted in amusement. "_Not _killing people. I've read your files. _All _of them; I know what you're capable of. Don't think you can frighten little, ol' me."

"Well, Kankuro... I'm good with my hands," he smirked, wiggling his left hand, the one that hadn't been hurt by Gaara. He wrote with his right hand, but it was a bit... busy at the moment.

"Which way are we going around the circle?" asked a brown haired girl, whose hair was pulled back into buns. She smiled shyly at Kankuro, who looked away, mildly repulsed by her open affections.

"Right, you may go next," nodded Orochimaru with a smile.

"All right... well I'm TenTen. I..." she frowned, deep in thought. "I guess I'm good at hitting my target." She smiled happily at this, gnawing on the edge of her jacket sleeve as she oggled Kankuro.

"Okay..." drawled Shikamaru, creeped out by her answer and behavior. "Shikamaru—I'm a _genius_." He nodded curtly and dipped his head back down to the desk.

"I'm Haku. I'm good at looking _sexy as hell."_ Haku didn't even look up from his plastic mirror, but continued to pout and wink at himself. Sakura snorted with amusement as he blew himself a kiss.

"Kisame." They'd all been waiting to hear that name. He'd been the one who'd messed with the girls and Naruto. His skin had a hazy-blue tone to it where all the inks from his tattoos seemed to blend together. He flashed the girls a wicked smile, his sharp teeth flashing ominously. Kai shuddered, moving back from him and more towards Kankuro. The boy to the left of her giggled and smiled, causing her cringe to deepened. Sakura covered her face and hid her eyes. "I'm a _wonderful_ cook."

"Whatever it is he cooks—I'm _not _biting, grumbled Naruto. Kisame shrugged, chuckling a deep, disturbing laugh. He motioned sideways to a young man with bizarre gray hair.

"Kabuto. I am to be a doctor," the boy said, pushing his glasses up on his nose. The fluorescent lights caught on the lenses, flashing momentarily as he pushed them up onto the bridge of his nose

"Gaara. I specialize in mind-fuckery," purred Gaara, leering at Sakura as he licked his lips. This didn't go unnoticed by Orochimaru.

Sasuke sighed, briefly amused by Gaara's out-of-character response. "Sasuke. I'm great in bed."

"Wow! Thanks so much for sharing that!" smiled Naruto sarcastically. He laughed heartily when Gaara flung a pencil at Sasuke. Orochimaru grabbed the pencil, swatting Gaara on the head. This earned hi ma disdainful glower.

"_Tobi! _Tobi good boy! Tobi help you!" He wore a football helmet, though no one had bothered to make him take it off. It bore many scratches on the side and a lot of dents which disturbed some of them. Naruto didn't' seem to mind, though.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I'm... well, I'm an awesome ramen critic!" Naruto beamed at his introduction; he had managed to include his favorite dish into the mix. Now everyone would know his favorite thing on the planet.

"Genma. I'm a ladies' man," said the boy next to Naruto, leaning back in his chair. He was trying to act sauve and seductive, but it was obvious he was trying too hard .

"Self-proclaimed of course!" snorted Tenten, giggling when he stuck his tongue out at her.

"You weren't complaining last ni-"

"Hey! That's private, you jerk!" She snarled, chucking her book at him.

Orochimaru scowled, making sure that Genma was all right. The book had hit him square in the forehead, just as she'd intended to. "Can we keep the dart-practice to a minimum, please?"

Kiba sighed, not even acknowledging him. "I'm Kiba. I'm a protector, I guess," he murmured, his tongue passing over his bottom lip as he ducked his head. He averted his eyes from his neighbor; he meant to protect _her _specifically, in any way he could.

"Kallou... um, being silent?" Kai laughed at this, her laugh humorless and dry. Kallou shot her an intense glare which earned a mocking smile from her.

"I'm Sakura. I'm a teacher in training. I know that's a little off base, but I'm really good at it..." She smiled, looking down at her hands, hiding from Gaara's amused snort .

"I'm Kai! I write, draw, and ahh... well, I guess that's all I need to share, right now..." Kai shrugged, her leg jiggling a tattoo under the desk as she waited impatiently for them to move on. "Err, so now what?"

"Now... Oh, now, we're going to go around _again_ and tell what we aspire to be," smiled Orochimaru.

"Oh! Uhm, well actually I want to be a teacher, too," smiled Kai triumphantly. It seemed innocuous enough but Naruto felt there was something strange in her response.

"Err..." Kankuro bit his lip, hanging his head as he thought. "I've never really thought about it... I mean, it's not like I'm getting out of here."

"Well, think about it now. We've got all class," smiled Orochimaru, though Kankuro didn't like how long Orochimaru's canines were. They seemed like fangs.

It also hurt a little bit that the older man hadn't even given him the slightest glimmer of hope. Kankuro hadn't been fishing, but he hadn't expected such a cold answer .

"Ugh..." Kankuro rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand, smiling when he got his answer. "Pro wrestler."

"Really..."Orochimaru eyed his shoulder pointedly; Kankuro's eyes hardened over, all notions of inspiration gone. What was the point in asking if he was just going to passive-aggressively ridicule him?

"I want to be... an inspiration. Or a lover, maybe," said TenTen, still clinging to her sleeve as she gnawed away. Her eyes flickered back over to Kankuro whose lip curled back in disgust.

"I'mma be a pharmacist," muse Shikamaru, seeing the complete genius of his answer. Everyone from his wing snickered, and he smiled victoriously.

"I want to... marry someone as sexy as I am, but... I think I'll have to settle for staring at myself _forever_..." breathed Haku, earning an eye-roll from Sakura.

"Chef! I cook peo-things and eat 'em up! They're delicious..." Kisame' sudden enthusiasm startled them; everyone scooted their chairs away from him.

"Again-doctor," uttered Kabuto, smirking at Orochimaru as he hiked his glasses back up. Kankuro quirked his head to the side, wondering what their small exchange meant.

"Lawyer," mused Gaara, lacing his hands behind his head.

"What the fuck do you want to be a lawyer for?" snapped Kankuro, leaning onto his palm.

"They make the _big_ bucks, brother," smirked Gaara, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together. "Besides, laws are made to be broken and meant to be bent."

"All righty, moving on!"ushered Orochimaru.

"I would like to be a world-class man-whore," Sasuke lied blatantly, a wide smile forming on his face. He cast a sideways glance at Naruto, who'd blanched. "Just kidding, geesh. I actually want to own a book store."

"Tobi want to be helper!" announced Tobi, his voice just _gushing _happiness. Sasuke groaned; he'd attempted to kill the last idiot who irritated him like this. If he did that again... who knew what would happen?

" I want to own a ramen stand so that I can always have ramen—whenever I want!" burst Naruto, his hands flailing with his speech. Tobi cried out with surprise as Naruto's hands smacked off of his helmet. "Sorry, Tobi." Naruto smiled sheepishly.

"I wanna be Hugh Hephner," chuckled Genma, his smile broad as he leaned back in his chair. The boys shrugged and the girls groaned.

"I'm gonna be an alpha male. I'll take a mate and have a huge pack." Kiba smiled, averting his eyes once again. Kallou sighed, opening her mouth to speak.

"I want to be a famous poet, and a mom."

"Who'd have kids with _you?" _laughed Kankuro, wincing when Orochimaru thwacked him on the head." Oww—what did I do?"

"No making fun of classmates; apologize."

"Sorry," he sneered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Kallou scowled at him; Kiba glared in his direction. Gaara and Kai smiled at him though; that was what he was after.

"Okay!" Sakura drew attention back to herself and away from the awkward scene. "You guys remember that I want to be a teacher, right?"

"Yeah. Same here. We're done now, right?" asked Kai. "How long do we have left?"

"Half an hour," answered Orochimaru. "You're all going to write during that time."

"About what?" demanded Kai, her pencil already poised and ready to write.

"Where you come from. It's for you and you only, so don't worry about what you write," sighed Orochimaru, sinking into his desk chair.

They each worked at their own pace for the next thirty minutes, some of them, like Kai, Sakura, and TenTen finishing almost ten pages before their time was up. Others, like Naruto, Kankuro, Gaara, and Tobi struggled. They were generally okay writers—except for Tobi who wrote at the level of a four-year old—but the subject of where they came from was hard for them to write about when they knew someone would read it. At the end of class, Orochimaru collected their papers and stacked them up on his desk; a few of them eyed the pile, itching to grab their own papers out and rip them to shreds. They felt violated in letting someone read about their past.

They were walking out the door now, none of them in single file. Everyone was already voicing their opinions about Orochimaru, and his 'teaching methods.' The different wings separated into their groups again, every so often jostling each other. They didn't' mesh well; it was obvious they were different.

They were headed off to their next class—history. English was the favorite class of some, but they doubted that Orochimaru would be their favorite teacher.

Gaara casually stepped on Sakura's foot, smirking when she yelped, "_Is all you do smirk?"_

_"No." _Gaara snickered, leaning in a he made a kissy face, pleased to have pissed her off so quickly. Sakura smacked him in the side of the head without thinking as they started to walk into their next class. Gaara grunted and grabbed her arm, yanking her aside. The others, oblivious to her action, walked into the classroom.

Gaara threw her against the wall, ignoring her squeak of surprise as she rebounded slightly off of the wall. His face was close to her as he spoke, his breath fanning across her face. "That might not be the best idea," he growled his worlds into her ear, his breath once again washing over ear and neck. The first time he'd been in such close proximity she'd been afraid, but the breaths on her neck were somewhat... enthralling now.

"Why not?" she retorted, leaning into him just as closely as he was to her. She knew it made him uncomfortable to have someone closer to him, to have some challenging _him _and not the other way around. Gaara's brows, which were indeed there, just incredibly pale—scrunched together in confusion.

"Because I could _kill _you," he said, his brows relaxing at the expression on her face. They quickly drew back together when she smiled.

"So do it already," she whispered, leaning closer to him. He pulled back, growling as he pushed her away.

"You really are insane." Then he smiled. "Is that why your parents don't want you?"

Sakura's features froze; she withdrew from him completely. He laughed in a low, mirthless tone and left her standing there. He strolled easily through the door, opening it wide before he passed through.

Sakura leaned against the wall, her face expressionless. Her arms wrapped themselves around herself, seemingly of their own accord. She slipped down the wall, her knees drawing together and her feet pushing away from them. This forced her body to droop forward. She stared at the floor, his words ringing through her head again and again. '_Is that why your parents don't' want you?'_

Her stomach was twisting in on itself; she felt like she was being twisted into some kind of army knot that she coudn't work herself out of. She heard the door open again, but didn't look up.

"Sakura? Are you okay?" The voice was rich, deep, and inviting. It beckoned her to answer. She shook her head in response, dully. Yes. She was fine. As fine as she would ever be. _'You really _are _insane.'_ She was, wasn't she? To think that death would be easy to coax from him when all he wanted was head games and that quick rush of satisfaction he got from cracking her armor was ridiculous.

"Sakura, what happened?" The voice was dragging her back and for once she was thankful to be pulled out of that horrible black shell. She couldn't let him know he'd hurt her—she was going to break _him_ first. She would learn from the best and turn it back on him. It would hurt him doubly hard to be broken by her, because he would teach her how to do it.

Gaara looked up, the surprise at seeing Sakura walk back in and settling into easy conversation with Kallou showing on his face. Kai laughed at something Sakura said, causing him to bristle when her eyes flicked over to him. He could tell from the triumphant look in her eyes that they were talking about him.

Kallou's face erupted into an uncharacteristically wide smile when Sakura whispered something else in her ear and Gaara looked away; he was betting that she was trying to get a rise out of him, but it wouldn't work. She was using one of the oldest, simplest tricks in the book and he wouldn't fall for that. He was the new-age brain fuck. He knew more head games than a CIA interrogation professional. Did he often use them? No. The situation hardly ever called for such measures, leaving him to twiddle his thumbs. He had to admit he'd gotten lazy lately, but this meant war. You didn't try to screw with him and get away scotch free.

The class went along slowly, their teaching sitting as his desk for ten minutes as he read something before he finally stood up and launched directly into teaching. Gaara stared at the floor, boredom already seeping into his body. He'd already learned all of this. Over the years, he'd taught himself. It was better than sitting there and staring into space as he so often did lately. It also allowed him to observe others in class; for that he was appreciative.

Gaara doodled absently in the corner of a page in his notebook, the tiny people not exactly 'good,' though they clearly conveyed his thoughts. He'd rather bash his head repeatedly against a wall than be stuck in this stupid class. Tobi, on the note of smashing his head into things, was sitting at his desk, slowly but surely thudding his face against the desk. To any of those in the room who hadn't been sure by now, that was what the helmet was for. In Gaara's picture, he was he was bashing his head against the wall, blood spurting violently from his skull. He jolted slightly as a hand pulled the notebook from his desk. Gaara looked up, expecting to see his teacher.

But it wasn't Kakashi. It was Tobi; Gaara hadn't noticed him get up, so enthralled in his drawing had he been. "Look! Gaara drew a pic-cha! It's boo-tee-full!" shrieked Tobi, holding it up for Kakashi to see. Kakashi looked up from the chalkboard where he was mapping out his notes and strolled over to look at the drawing.

"Eh, I've seen better. But, next time you decide to draw in my class, make sure it's relevant," muttered Kakashi, handing the notebook back. "What were we discussing?

Gaara's jaw dropped a fraction of a centimeter before he snapped it back shut, looking Kakashi in the eye. Kakashi's beanie hat covered the other eye, a facial wrap—thin, gauzy blue material—covered his mouth. Gaara's lips barely parted as he spoke through gritted teeth. "The ancient Aztecs and their migration habits."

Kakashi nodded his approval before sauntering back up to the board, continuing to map out their habits on the board. Gaara exhaled, bored, and dropped his head into his arms. He feigned sleep for a while, longing to be normal for even just a moment. There was no rap to the head or desk, or gentle prod to wake him from sleep. He was denied even the luxury of being treated like everyone else.

Naruto rested his head as well, figuring that if Gaara wouldn't get in trouble, he wouldn't either. This, however, was not the case. Kakashi's hand smacked quietly against the back of his head, effectively waking him from his pleasant little dream. Kakashi casually ambled down the aisle, not even mentioning his effective schooling. Gaara smiled into his arm, glad for once his special treatment was paying off. He got to get Naruto back—Naruto annoyed the hell out of him, even if he was a great secret keeper. Not that he'd actually _tell_ the blond-haired brat anything, but his brother seemed to have no problem confiding in him at night.

Gaara casually looked around the room, his eyes narrowing slightly when he saw Tobi was, once again, smacking head repeatedly off the desk. No one else noticed though, because Tobi was in the back of the room with him. But Gaara noticed. The soft, persistent thuds and thunks were grating in his ears now that knew they were there. Thud. Thud. Thock. Thunk. Thunk. Thock.

Gaara pressed his hands against his ears and pressed his face into his desk; his face screwed itself up in annoycane at the irksome sound. Thock. Thunk. Thod. Thud. Thock. Gaara tried focusing on the sound of Kakashi's voice, but the sound was getting louder. Thock. Thod. Thud. Thock. Thock. Thunk. Gaara groaned under his breath, leaning back in his chair. The ceiling that was it! Gaara stared at the ceiling, trying to find _some _kind of pattern in it so he could block out the incessant sound of Tobi's helmet hitting against the desk. **Thock. Thunk. Thock. Thock. Thud. Thunk. **

Gaara looked around, agonized by the fact that no one else could hear it. He closed his eyes, covering his ears. But it didn't stop. The sound continued. **Thock. Thunk. Thud. **He raised his hand momentarily, waiting for Kakashi to turn around, but his teacher remained stationary at the board. **THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. ** The sounds were getting more and more forceful; Gaara couldn't take it anymore.

His hand shot out towards Tobi, his long fingers curling around the bars on the front of the helmet, shaking them visciously. This seemed to wake Tobi out of his little stupor. Tobi stared at him, surprised. "Gaara need something?"

"G-" Gaara caught himself before he talked like a three year old. "Stop making that noise. Or I'll beat your face off the desk."

"Tobi help Gaara!" announced Tobi, his voice loud and fearful. He sat back in his chair, squirming slightly. Gaara's hand was still wrapped around the cage on the front of the helmet when Kakashi turned around. Kakashi narrowed his eyes when he saw them.

"What are you doing?"

"He won't stop making noise," deadpanned Gaara, refusing to release his grip on the bar. "He's driving me _insane._"

"More insane," corrected Kakashi, his humor lightening his voice. "You're both already quite unstable." Gaara narrowed his eyes, baring his teeth.

"If you don't make him stop, I will kill him," growled Gaara, exhaling through his nose. It reminded him of a carton from when he'd been younger; the bull had been about to charge, and let out its breath through its nose, creating a cloud of steamy fury. Gaara imagined the cloud floating beneath his nose before slowly spreading itself thing and vanishing. He was a bull now, reading to charge with the slightest flicker of red.

"Very well, Tobi, where would you like to sit?" Asked Kakashi, ever casual.

"Tobi sit next to new mommy!" chimed Tobi, point to Sakura.

"Sakura is your new mommy?" asked Kakashi, a slight smile evident in his voice. The word 'mommy' sounded strange rolling off his tongue and Sakura felt a slight tremble ripple down her spine. She didn't want to be a mommy. Children were fine, but being around them twenty-four-seven would ruin their magic.

"No! Not _her—" _Sakura let out a breath of relief, but slightly put off by the disdainful tone of Tobi's voice. "Her!" Kallou's brows rose when Tobi pointed to her. She glowed proudly. She'd always wanted to be a mom and having someone look to her with such intent warmed her slightly.

Gaara rolled his eyes as Tobi jumped up from his chair, marching over to Sakura. Sakura's face paled with the realization that she'd have to sit next to Gaara, but she forced herself to put on her game face. She could deal with this—she _had_ to deal with this. She gather her belongings quickly before walking back with clipped, careful steps that carried her annoyingly close to Gaara. Gaara stared at her blankly as she sat down. He turned back to his drawing suddenly, a new idea coming to him quickly.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SAKURA FLIPPED BACK to the page Kakashi was on, looking up to see just which part he was talking about. She'd already studied this. When she glanced sideways at Gaara, she was chagrinned to feel his eyes on her again. His hand jerked and then swept wide, some lines rigid while others were long and flowing.

The picture was unfolding and quickly, too; it was quite good but she couldn't make it out. She exhaled peacefully, looking back to the textbook. She read ahead, trying to review as best she could. The textbook was dreadfully boring; somehow Kakashi managed to warp the droll words of the book into fantastic tales and descriptions that were intensely interesting if you paid attention enough. Naruto and Kai were engaged in argument about something to do with history, though it didn't reflect what they were studying just now.

When she glanced back over at Gaara, she could immediately see that she was in the picture—being murdered by Aztecs. She couldn't help but giggle at the picture, her cheeks lifting in obvious amusement.

"What's so funny?" Gaara hissed, not bothering to look up.

"You made my boobs look _great,_" she snickered, glancing down to compare size and ratio. "Seriously."

"Boobs? Where! Who's talking about boobs? I heard boobs!" demanded Genma, raising from his chair. Gaara groaned and closed his notebook.

"Perv," he grumbled, punching Genma in the forehead when he tried to steal the notebook. Genma clutched his face, stumbled back and bumping into Kankuro's desk. Kankuro stiff-armed the perverted boy away from him, inadvertently shoving Genma into Kai.

Kai squealed as he was shoved her way. "Geroff!" Genma's hands pushed into her as he tried to right himself. "_Hey!" _

Kai tried to pull away the pervert placed his hands inappropriately. "Stop! Kakashi, he's—" She broke off when, surprisingly, Kakashi was already there to pull Genma away.

"Genma, you and I need to have a chat after class. Now go sit back in your seat," sighed Kakashi. He turned to ask Kai if she was all right. Kai nodded shakily, lowering her chin onto her crossed arms. Kankuro glared at Genma—such touching was _not_ acceptable when the recipient so obviously didn't want it. He was strictly opposed to forceful touching and intimacy. Kai avoided their eyes sheepishly, the epitome of feeling awkward crushing down on her.

Gaara rolled his eyes at Genma's startled 'What-Did-I-Do? Who-Me?' expressin. "Gaara, what did you draw _this _time?" inquired Kakashi, already holding out his hand expectantly.

Gaara scowled, flipping his book open as he handed it over. Kakashi eyed the picture then glanced at Sakura who was already bright, flaming pink. The idea of her teacher seeing the picture embarrassed her more than Gaara drawing it.

"She's right. You made her boobs too big." Gaara paled—as much as someone as pale as him _can_ pale—and Sakura reddened further. She was beyond embarrassed by now.

Then the bell rang, allowing them all to scurry from the class after they'd shoved their things into their bags. Genma stayed behind, looking sullen and unjustly accused. He puffed out his lower lip at them as they departed before turning to face Kakashi. The talk that Kakashi gave him would be anything but what he'd expected.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"WELCOME TO ART, yeah!" A blond-haired young man beamed at them, swinging the door to his classroom wide. Sakura's heart stopped; she could feel her stomach lurch slightly before Naruto pulled her over to sit with him.

She stared at the man for a moment as he moved around the room hanging out smocks and pallets. At first glance he had looked just like her... She lowered her head, her breathing speeding up way too quickly. Her breathing accelerated even further to the point where she was getting no oxygen and gasping loud enough to cause Naruto to stare at her for a moment before asking if she was okay.

"You all right, hon?" he whispered, the hand he rested on her back soothing her—it was odd because it'd been so long since someone had done that.

"N—" Sakura broke off as a gasp shuddered through her. Naruto raised his hand, waving it around for a millisecond before shouting out, "Dei-Dei! Sakura's having a panic attack!"

Sakura elbowed Naruto in the side, irritated that he answered so loudly. She couldn't help but cringe away from Deidara when he came closer. The older man stepped back, frowning. "Take her to the nurse. _I _should be the one helping her, but apparently she'd uncomfortable, yeah? Go on, already, it'll be okay."

People looked up quickly, noticing the sudden urgency in their obviously laid-back teacher's voice. Sakura winced, feeling Gaaara's eyes roving over her flesh. She could see him in her mind's eye, smirking at his brother and nudging him, bragging about how _he'd _done that.

Naruto hesitantly helped Sakura out of her seat, wrapped an arm around the waist of the steady girl. It looked romantic as he walked with her that way, but he knew she needed a brotherly, comforting arm at the moment. It made her feel safe; safer than she remembered feeling in a long time, but her breathing continued to rage rampantly in and out of her. Naruto's grip loosened slightly as he told her to try to breathe in through her nose and out through her mouth.

"Do you need me to stay with you when we get there?" asked Naruto, his voice slow and even. Sakura nodded quickly, her breathing slowly slightly.

"Tha-nk you, Na-ruto," she gasped, only to have Naruto shoosh her.

"It's okay, Sakura. Just... try to slow down your breathing. You're hyperventilating." Sakura's eyes widened slightly; it was the biggest word she'd ever heard Naruto say without having to slow down and sound it out. She'd thought she had _him _pegged at least, but even he wasn't who he seemed. He might actually be... intelligent.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

GAARA STARED AFTER her angrily. He hadn't caused that, but he found it strange that he was territorial over his prey. He was the only one to be allowed to cause her such pain. Gaara rubbed furiously at his eyes, the dark rings stinging painfully. He needed to sleep but he knew that he couldn't-wouldn't- be able to.

Kankuro elbowed him silently, motioning to pull the easel section of his desk into an upright position so they could being. Gaara nodded, his soundless thank you earning a returned nod from his brother. Gaara picked up his pencil, drawing in practiced strokes. He paused every once in a while to erase. Gaara sighed, unable to focus his attention on the picture when he knew that something was messing with _his _prey, his territory, and eating her up inside. He wanted to be that thing—chewing her up and spitting her out.

It didn't feel fair to him that he'd been so easily replaced; nothing seemed fair anymore. Gaara looked around at everyone's darwings, noticing that they were to be painted soon. He was impressed not by the superior quality of some of them, but the utter awfulness of some of them. Did it take skill to make something so painfully awful? Tobi scribbled furiously; Kisame had what could only be described as an angry blob of shit; Gem,a was drawing the crude lineage of a naked lady. Gaara eyed TenTen's unoriginal picture of a girl bawling her eyes out and clawing at something to get free. Gaar snorted; why was everyone so closed minded?

He glanced sideways to check on his brother's work and was quite pleased with what he saw. Drawing ran in the family—at least one thing he hadn't minded inheriting. His brother drew the old apple tree that had grown in the yard of their home, the gnarled branches empty and bare. Fall. The season of death and decay. The sky behind the tree was dived and lettered for the colors he wanted, and Gaara knew it would be a dark backdrop; it always was. That tree was where they would escape to during the day, trying to run away from the nights. They'd climb to the very top, staring out at the horizon, imagining themselves beyond them. Kankuro had always vowed to Gaara that he'd get them out of there. He'd never imagined that getting out of there would result in them coming here.

Gaara looked down at his own drawing; it was a rose plant, curling up the bars of the windows to his room. He didn't include the walls of the room, just the window floating in space. The window took up most of the space, but he'd fill in black around it. The rose was what he wanted to showcase. He couldn't decide the color of the rose yet, but that didn't matter to him. He'd come to that when the time called for it.

Kankuro was already shading in with his pencil, a reminder for what areas were dark, light, and inbetween. Gaara tried to work on his painting but it was much more amusing to watch his brother. Kankuro didn't draw often at all, but when he did it was Gaara's personal pleasure to watch. His brother could bring a picture to life with shading alone, and nothing else. Kankuro's large hands, when holding the pencils that were small in comparison, could create magic. That was the only magic Gaara had ever trusted.

Kai groaned, ripping off the page she'd been working on, and threw it away. Gaara watched as she put her head in her hands, her palms crushing against her temples. She looked up, scouting for a moment before landing her eyes on him, a slight smile curving her lush lips. "I'm drawing you, Gaara."

"Hn." Gaara was curious to see how he'd turn out, but not curious enough to look as she drew. Not that he could anyway. She sat across from him, her easel, while only raised slightly, too high for him to see her paper. Her hands were covered in lead already, as were the sides of her arms where she'd pressed them into her drawing. Her face was streaked with gray where she'd reached up to scratch her cheek or brush hair from her eyes. Gaara looked back down, grabbing another paper so that he could trace his image to another paper. He wanted clean, perfect lines for his painting. He'd keep one as a line-drawing, and the others as the fully-fledged product.

"Time's up! Put your materials away and then we're going to share our drawings," announced Deidara. Gaara frowned, unsure of whether he wanted to share his drawing or not. Why did these teachers always want to _share? _Was it so wrong to want to draw for one's own self and _not_ share it with others? That was the whole purpose of drawing for him; to make himself feel a certain way or to pull the feeling from his body and splash it onto the paper and be done with it. Why must he share?

"All right. We'll go around the room and you'll share your painting. Stand up, holding up the painting, or drawing, whatever you've done, and share a fact about it. Simple enough, yeah?" Deidara stood at the front of the room. He pointed to Kiba; everyone expectantly waited as he laboriously got out of his chair and lifted his painting.

"Okay... this is my dog, Akamaru. You guys don't know him, but he's here!" smiled Kiba, holding up a childish cartoon of a puppy. Deidara nodded and smiled, clapping enthusiastically. There was a light, much less enthusiastic clapping for the rest of them. Gaara noticed absently that Kai was clapping proudly.

"Go, Kiba! See? Practice makes... better!" Kai whooped and clapped a few more times before she was fixed with stares of 'What-The-Fuck-Is-Wrong-With-You?' and she froze. She reddened slightly, hiding her face in her arms.

"Uh, Kiba, weee!" Kallou waved a hand sarcastically at her picture, as though modeling it for 'The Price is Right.' Then she plopped back down in her seat, looking defeated. It was an adequate drawing, readily capturing his look of intense concentration.

"Tobi draw Mommy!" procalaimed Tobi, jumping up to show his picture of Kallou. It was basically a stick figure, Kallou's head perched precariously atop the tiny shoulders. There was a huge smile—quite obviously out of character—but no one seemed to mind. Scribbles filled the background, and made the picture slightly harder to see, but he was dancing so vibrantly Kallou couldn't help but smile. His enthusiasm earned a hearty clap from Deidara, though Gaara refused to clap for such a piteous lack of talent.

Haku stood slowly, careful not to take his eyes from picture. "I drew me... _God_ I love me..." Haku flashed the drawing quickly, showing an inadequate copy of his face. It was sloppy and rushed, and showed his lack of talent. But, he did catch his smug smile perfectly.

Kai rubbed nervously at the back of her neck, leaving a large, gray smudge. She stood up a little too quickly, emitting a light swear when she bumped into the table. She turned the drawing around so they could see it. It was a striking set of eyes, obviously Gaara's, and the makings of his nose. A slight fringe of bangs hung over the eyes. That was all she'd drawn. "Work in progress..."

Deidara clapped proudly. There was a following of enthusiastic clapping—even from Kallou. Kai's eyes widened, and she lowered her gaze as she sat back down.

Sasuke stood slowly, his cool eyes flickering across the room. He turned his picture over for them to see, and all of their faces felt slightly warmer. IT was a male, half naked in the water. Deidara wiped under his nose distractedly, then rose a hand, indicating that they move on. The picture itself was classy, but the male was beautiful, the water ending _directly_ where one might begin to protest if they wished to see more.

Gaara rolled his eyes as he looked to Kisame, who stood next. "Food! I love food, but I'm not artist .I can cook up a mean—well I'll just have to show you sometime," he chuckled. Kisame eyed TenTen, Kallou, and Kai with a wide smile that made even Gaara uncomfortable. He felt his brother bristle, and smirked to himself. Kankuro was getting territorial. But why? That fruitloop—Gaara mentally swore at himself for using one of the strange girl's words.

TenTen hopped up, smiling brightly. "This is how I feel... _inside." _Gaara snorted, guessing that it figured she'd be so bright and happy on the outside only to feel like she was dying inside. Go figure... TenTen nodded and thanked them for their awkward applause and then sat down promptly after winking at Kankuro. Had she no shame?

Kabuto, who had been hiding his picture as he drew, groaned slightly as he stood. He shyly flipped his picture over, revealing a rough line drawing of Orochimaru. There was a loud boo, and the sound of retching from more than one person. Gaara could feel his stomach scrunch up in disgust. He did his best to smooth the unwarranted response.

Shikamaru stood next, disgust still evident on his face. He held the painting of the sky and slight horizon lazily with one hand, nodding when they clapped. He sat down, looking over to Kankuro who bit his lip before rising out of his chair. It took until Kankuro stood up to realize that he had the smallest chair in the room. Gaara tried to hide his half-grin at the odd trivia, looking up at his brother.

Kankuro hesitantly turned their painting to show them, utterly terrified of sharing his special place with them. That was where went—or pretended to go—whenever he was scared of worried, or even just wanted some simple peace

Kai squealed, and had to restrain herself from grabbing it. "You never told me you _drew_! Gah! I hate you! That's just _so _pretty!" There was applause—quite loud for him, considering one would think he'd _never _been one to draw, and Kai asked him if she could see it after he sat down. Kankuro made a face then shrugged. Kai stared at it for a moment before Gaara stood up. Kai took one look at it and groaned.

"You two are assholes. You're _supposed _to _tell _me these things! I could've..." Kai smacked her head off the desk and crossed her arms. "Secrets bug me."

"Well, then Gaara will bug you," snorted Kankuro. "Most secretive bastard I know."

Gaara swatted Kankuro on the head with his large notepad, and Kankuro didn't even wince this time. He'd expected it. Kai giggled, covering her mouth to avoid a swat from Gaara. Gaara leered at her, and Kai's giggles died off rather quickly.

"Sorry, Gaara... but you didn't see his face," said Kai, smiling. She shrugged her shoulder apologetically, watching as Gaara's eyes relaxed slightly. He sat back down, looking expectantly at Genma. Genma proudly held up his drawing, not caring that all the girls in the room cringed. He yelped, though, when Kai threw her textbook at him.

"What? It's _art_!"

"No, you twat—it's porn!" snapped her temples angrily.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," he purred, licking his lips lecherously.

"How 'bout I cut yours off and fashion you one of mine so you don't have to ask girls to show you theirs?" retorted Kai, chucking her pencils at him. "Now I have a headache, you fuck nugget."

Gaara laughed—an actual real laugh— and Genma sat back down, wincing slightly at the ferocious glare that all the girls sent him.

"All right. Well, we've still got five minutes, yeah? But ,uh, you guys can pack up and go. I don't see the harm in letting you out a little early." Deidara smiled, lifting his hands and clapping them once to signify the end of their class. Gaara would have bet money that he'd seen a tattoo of some sort on his teacher's hands, but he couldn't be sure. He wordlessly packed his things into the standard issue messenger bag.

"Ugh. Math. Who else _hates _math; I mean, is it just me?" half-grumbled Kai, looking up to see if anyone else responded. "Oh. OKAY. I see how it is. Just ignore me. All right. That's cool." She shrugged with pseudo indifference and marched out of the room. She was halfway down the hall before the rest of the patients caught up with her fast pace.

"Hey, Naruto!" She called out cheerily w when she saw him. Gaara's eyes narrowed; he'd been glad to get rid of that moron for so long. It made Kai calmer when he was gone; she wasn't so off the wall. She would be having conversations with Naruto that covered _everything—_the topic changed so quickly it was rather disconcerting. Gaara watched as the two conversed, her arms moving with the magnitude of energy in the conversation.

"Where's Sakura? Is she... okay?"

"Yeah, they sent her back to her room to rest up 'til lunch. She..." Naruto leaned in closer to whisper in her ear. Gaara's lip curled back in irritation.

"Oh. Well _that _explains a lot! Man—that would suck. I mean seriously? What are the _odds_."

Why did that stupid little bitch have to make it sound so utterly interesting? Gaara mentally slapped himself for being so damned attached to his pray and stomped ahead of them.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SAKURA SIGHED, EATING her ramen very slowly; the noodle hanging from her mouth wiggling as she slowly slurped it up. Wiping the ramen brother from her cheek, she sighed again. Naruto's blue eyes skittered across the table towards her every so often, but she didn't mind. He was like the brother she'd never had; in his arms she felt safe and warm. Even when she was just in his presence, he had a calming effect on her. That seemed odd, as he and Kai caused so much havoc when they were together. Were real brother and sisters so close? Usually not, but she didn't care; she wished she'd been even half as close as this with her own sister.

Sakura watched the others as they are, some of them messily slurping up their noodles while others opted to cut them up and them that way. The lunches today were combined, and both wings from the class were eating together. Tobi was sitting at Kallou's feet as she ate—he hadn't been kidding about adopting her as his mother. He called her "Mommy" consistently whenever he talked to her, Kallou responding in kind by calling him 'hon,' or 'sugar.'

Kiba had taken to glaring at the boy for long periods of time. In this moment, he jolted out of his hateful stare and then resumed eating. He didn't even know he was doing it. Sakura knew that Kiba had... certain feelings for the girl, but he'd never admit to them unless he had solidified things with Kallou. Things were looking far from it with the way she was fawning all over Tobi, practically forgetting about him.

Sakura could still feel Gaara's eyes on her—they'd been here ever since she'd come into contact with him at lunch earlier. Kankuro had leaned into his brother a while ago, whispering something. Gaara had only shrugged. She couldn't read lips, but she knew it was something along the lines of 'figuring her out.'

Sakura openly stared at Kankuro, just as equally unable to figure him out as Gaara was with her. The dark-haired young man was brooding and tumultuous in regards to his moods; he was happy, then angry, but never really conveying a sad emotion, or anything other than happy or angry. He was always those two constants, but lately he'd been getting along with people for the most part. The other night, however... he'd exploded. He'd been nicer than usual, but also as equal aggressive as he would be nice. It was like he felt he was slipping and had to make up for it. Sakura scrunched up her face as she looked him. Her face was washed clean of all scrutiny, replaced by a look of surprise when Kankuro rolled his eyes and glared at her.

"Do you _need _something?" he growled, his dark eyes growing even darker in less than a second.

"No," admitted Sakura. "I just..." She shrugged, shaking her head. Kankuro shook his head in disgust, turning his back on her, almost immediately shocked into conversation with Kai.

Kai. She was most constant lately in her good mood. Sakura guess she'd overcome the drop in her mood. It would surely come back around, but Sakura was glad to have her happy again. It made dealing with things easier. However, it did cause her the odd migraine here and there with her incessant chatter.

Kai had brought her notebook with her, unashamed to draw in public not that she had fellow drawers among her. Downing the last of her ramen, she hopped up from the table. "I'm going for a walk! Toots!" Toots equated to saying Toodles, just as "Yoddles" was a strange combination of "yo" and "hello." Strange? Yes. The definition of Kai's oddity? Definitely.

Sakura repressed a smile as Naruto shamelessly stole a forkful of noodles from Sasuke's bowl after he'd finished his own. There was definitely more than a friendship brewing between the two—Naruto had told her about it while she was at the nursing station. He was apparently done with hiding his sexuality. The others hadn't said anything about it; as long as he wasn't going to go over the top parading it around to make up for lost time they were perfectly fine with it. Naruto was rather certain that, even if he referred to himself as "Gay" from time-t0-time, he was still attracted to women. As long as Naruto moved out of their room, Gaara and Kankuro were okay with him. Sakura, even though she was a girl, found it rather offensive that they were kicking him out.

Genma was a slob, she noticed suddenly. He'd spilled more noodles than he'd actually managed to get in his outh. The fact that his hands were shakier than arthritic old woman's didn't help him either. After a while of seeing him splash the hot noodles all over himself—he was near tears by now—TenTen agreed to feed him as long as he didn't read anything into it. Genma nodded slowly, his eyes pleading. Sakura smiled at the thought of TenTen feeding the strange boy. She could see the care in TenTen's movements. That confused her; TenTen had openly tried to flirt with Kankuro. She just didn't understand whether the girl like him or Genma. Perhaps it was both.

Shikamaru had already finished his food and had moved on to play a game of Shogi with Kisama. Kisama was failing miserably, but Shikamaru didn't mind. He enjoyed himself a game of Shogi, dammit! Shikamaru looked the most alert she'd ever seen him, thought even this wasn't considered to be too alert. Her sat cross-legged on the cold ground, his jaw in his palm as he watch Kisame struggle to way his options. Shikamaru's eyes were always half-closed as he smirked, knowing he'd win.

Sakura slurped up the last of her noodles before glancing around. Where did Tobi and Kallou go? When she asked Kiba, he frowned at her. "For a walk."

"Oh..." Sakura sat down, idly wondering if Kallou and Tobi had taken the same path as Kai.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

Kai looked down at her drawing pad, sketching the cylindrical shape of the well with ease. She was perched high up in the tree, her new favorite place to sit. She'd somehow managed to find a great place to sit, and even a good branch to hang her stuff. Her iPod, which she'd forgotten, would've completed her little utopia. Even though it was sprinkling, she didn't mind. She was safe in her tree.

She shaded in one of the cobblestones for the well, sighing peacefully. It was a great day so far. She made a face when she heard the sound of voices—voices she could instantly recognize.

"Mommy! I just want to show you, please? It's so pretty! You won't_ believe _it!" pleaded Tobi, his voice high and whining. Kai could hear him stamping his feet impatiently.

"Oh, hush, I'm coming. I'm comin'..." Kallou said softly, soothing the boy's tantrum.

Kai tried to block them out as they came into the little opening, but Kallou and Tobi had managed to stand directly in front of the spot she'd intended to draw next. Kai rolled her eyes in frustration, bending at the waist as she tried to work somewhere else in her picture. She shaded in all the areas that she'd drawn in already. She looked up again, hoping that Kallou had moved by now. Kallou was at the side of the well now, leaning over to look for what Tobi was pointing at and talking so fervently about. Kai ignored the gloomy feeling in the pit of her stomach and started to draw the rest of the picture.

When she looked up again, Tobi was staring down the well by himself, waving. "What the hell..."

"Tobi! Where'd Kallou go?" Tobi looked up quickly, surprised by the sound of Kai's voice. He hadn't known she was there.

"Tobi—Tobi _good boy!" _shouted Tobi, shuffling his feet as a cold gust of wind blew through.

"Tobi! Where's Kallou?" _'Goddamn his short attention span. Where'd she go?' _Kai thought, her frustration building.

Tobi shrugged, and Kai let out a low, rattling groan of irritation. Her eyes narrowed when she heard a distant splashing sound. "Bee!" Was that... Kallou?

Kai shoved her notebook and pencils back in her bag, nearly falling out of the tree in her haste. Tobi blocked her way as she tried to get to the well, but she gave an almighty shove and pushed him aside. Tobi cried out, clawing at her as she tried to peer into the well. He pulled away suddenly as she looked down.

Kai shrieked at the sight of Kallou's head bobbing nearly six feet below the edge of the well, her arms flailing wildly as she clawed at the rocks and mud at the edge of the well. Her shrieked was cut short as Tobi rammed into her from the side, her helmet crushing painfully into her ribs. She scrambled away from him, pulling herself to her feet as she back away. "Are you okay, Kallou?"

"No! Go get help! You're too short to reach," shouted Kallou, the urgency apparent in her voice.

"But, Tobi—"

"Hurry!" screamed Kallou. Her panic was nearing hysteria now.

Kai felt a lump of fear rise in throat as she eyed Tobi. How was she going to get past him? He was just as tall as she was—which was short, admittedly—but he was the same size which made the situation harder. That, _and _the fact that he was charging at her, wearing a football helmet that—should it make contact—would easily break her ribs.

Sprinting as fast as she could, she swerved around him. "You can't forever, Kai!"

His childish demeanor had vanished. "I'll catch you before you make it back to them!"

"Why are you doing this!?" demanded Kai, her legs churning as she struggled to get to the top of the hill. Tobi was catching up to her.

She didn't slow down in the slightest when she got to the top of hill—quite the opposite. She was flying down the hill, paying no mind to the thorns and branches that slapped at her, whipping her face and torso. She only cried out when she stumbled, tripping over an exposed root. Her cry was punctuated with a grunt as she rolled down the hill.

She lay at the bottom of the hill, dazed and slightly confused. It hurt; she knew she should be moving, but that hurt. It was hard to get going again. Kai pulled herself into a sitting position and then rolled over onto her knees. She'd just made it onto her feet when Tobi grabbed a handful of her hair, yanking her back up the hill. Kai struggled against him, crying when he yanked her hair even harder. She stumbled up the hill backwards, his hand in her hair, yanking, the whole while.

"Tobi! Why... Why are ... you... doing this?" She panted, her breaths labored in the cold air. Why couldn't she breath? She tried to focus on the steady in and out; almost believing her wouldn't answer her. She was wrong.

Tobi twisted around, his tone soft though his voice no longer resembled that of a child's, but of a grown man, chalk-full of malice. "Because I can."

**Author's Note- Bwahaha! I'm evil- sorry for the cliffhanger. :P No options for this chapter, but... I just wanted to leave you with the first real cliff hanger. Whatcha think?**

**Leave me stuff! Reviews are my inspiration! :D**

**Lauren/Mellokai**


	9. Eye See You Seeing Me

SHE COULDN'T REMEMBER ever having been so cold. The cold of the water against her skin was utterly bone-chilling as she floated helplessly. Kallou could vaguely tell that there was something else in the water with her, even as mind-numbingly cold as the water was, but she was too scared to turn around and see what it was. It bobbed half-in, half-out of the water; she knew it was an animal of some sort just by the stink of it. The feel of its stumpy little legs brushing against her back, sometimes catching the fabric, did nothing for her moral. She was beginning to feel that she'd die in here before anyone returned to help her.

Kallou closed her eyes, blocking out the dull light that crept through the opening of the well. She didn't need to know, didn't _want_ to know... to see, to _feel_ the damnable water sloshing against her and singing its sick songs of despair as it rocked against her and the walls of the well. She stiffened upon hearing a distress shout from Kai; it hadn't carried very far so she had to be close. The notes of the shout pitched and wavered. Kallou closed her eyes, cursing herself for ever having let herself fantasize about being mother. Life was not good to her. It never had been.

When the atmosphere grew silent, save for her own breathing and the crash of the water as she kicked her legs, her hope dwindled even further. The thing behind her back was driving her up the wall, literally. She clawed and clawed to no avail, her nails chipping and bleeding by the time she plucked up the courage to twist around and see what it was.

Kallou didn't bother to repress the scream that rose in her throat, only pressing herself back against the wall of her prison. A dead cat was floating in the water, its mouth agape in an endless howl of terror. Thankfully, the eyes were closed. Trembling with nausea as she eyed the feline, she was unable to place the reason for the tears that threatened to spill. She let them come, spilling over the brim of her lashes, knowing that it mattered not if she shed a tear. Who would have been able to pick apart tears from the water that soaked the rest of her body?

Feelings of cold began to subside, numbness setting in. Kallou rubbed her fingertips together, frightened at their lack of cooperation. They didn't want to bend or even work properly. There was no doubt in her mind; she was going to die down here. It wasn't saddening, as she had thought it would be. She felt no relief at the end of her struggle. She felt nothing. The more she thought about it, the less she cared. Her sight was fuzzy, her body growing warmer, even if only slightly. It was nice to feel warm after being cold and numb for so long...

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

TOBI'S HAND WOUND even tighter into her hair as he forced her to walk, hunched over, to accommodate his short stature. They were both roughly only five-foot-two, which made for difficult walking on her part. The ground bobbed up and down before her eyes, mingling with the pain to send dizzying spirals of vertigo through her. Kai glanced back, an easy task in her stooped position. They weren't all the way up the hill yet. If she could somehow throw him off balance...

Slowly she looked up, trying to see how close they were to the top of the hill before it sweep down again. They were dangerously close; if she didn't hurry she'd be joining Kallou in the belly of the well. This was going to hurt—she'd probably lose a bit of her hair—but Kallou _was _her friend, regardless of all the fantasies Kai had imagined in which Kallou met a painful death.

Kai lurched forward as quickly as she could, yanking Tobi along with her. Surprised by her sudden motion, his grip loosened slightly; his hand came lose, taking along a few strands of hair with it, when she used all of her weight and momentum to fling herself down the hill.

She curled herself into fetal position as she rolled, unfurling immediately as she came to rest at the bottom. Tobi was nearly upon her already, having righted himself during the fall. Kai took off running for all she was worth. Adrenaline numbed the tiredness in her body, but it did nothing for the dull throbbing in her head. The gasps for breath filled her ears, the sound of twigs and branches breaking under his feet harmonizing in a symphony of suspense. They'd run off of the trail.

Kai's senses were running on overdrive; the slightest snap of a twig motivated her to sprint on, only slowing to a job when she hadn't heard another sound from him in a while. She was warm, perspiration forming at the line of her hair.

Through sheer dumb luck she managed to find the path again, stumbling across it completely by accident. She immediately took off running again, having caught her second wind. She'd have many winds, though they wouldn't provide lasting energy. She'd take what she could get though. Kai didn't bother to make sure she was going the right way; she didn't have time. Perhaps that was dumb, but she could sense that this was the way she needed to go.

She'd been running for so long now that the idea of slowing down seemed silly almost. Her panting was just as loud, but she could no longer hear it. Only five minutes had passed, but she was so focused on her goal that she didn't even know if Tobi was chasing her anymore. She wasn't going to stop to find out either. All she was focused on was getting to her destination.

Sakura was the first one to look up, the only one to hear her breathless shout. Gaara had been ignoring the world; otherwise he'd have heard it first.

Sakura was the first one to look up at the sound of her breathless shout. She could see someone close behind Kai, but then they disappeared. Sakura shrugged the thought of and stood up wearily.

"Kallou!" gasped Kai, pointing frantically behind her. "The well-!" Kai's voice gave way as she took a shuddering gasp. She tried to breathe again, but her lungs refused to work.

Kiba growled deep in his throat. "You pushed her in, didn't you?" he snarled, shoving past her. He was already sprinting off to make sure Kallou was okay. Kai's face, which was already quite red, reddened even further as she vigorously shook her head 'no.'

Kai's chest heaved as she motioned with her hands. She held them out from her head, shaking them. When no one understood her, she sucked in a loud, breath. She'd have been sobbing if she could breath properly. She made the motion again, this time pushing her hands up in the air.

"Tobi?" Gaara asked suddenly. Kai nodded her relief, immediately sinking into the small seat across from Shikamaru, whose Shogi partner had mysteriously disappeared. When she looked up again, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sasuke had already ran off to see if they could help. Why none of them ran for help would be beyond Tsunade when she finally heard of the problem.

"The other group went back in. We have a longer lunch than theirs because of our deal." Shikamaru sighed, leaning back to rest on the tree. Seeing that Kai was finally almost able to breathe properly again, he asked, "Is she seriously in the well?"

Kai nodded, sitting up a little straighter as a shuddering breath whooshed out of her. "Did _you_ push her?"

Kai deliberated for a moment before reaching across the Shogi board between them and punching him square between the eyes with all the strength she could muster. It wasn't much with the state she was in, but it was enough to prove her answer.

"I'll take that as a _no,_" muttered Shikamaru sourly, rubbing his forehead as he lay down. He frowned when he heard Gaara chuckling. Kankuro grimaced at the exchange, but said nothing.

Kai wordlessly picked herself up off the ground, having finally caught her breath. As she started down the path again, she turned back in irritation. "Aren't you _coming?" _

"No, actually. I'd rather have a nap. Too much trouble going after her in the rain..." Shikamaru didn't care in the slightest that he was getting wet, despite his words. Gaara and Kankuro rose from their bench somewhat reluctantly to follow her down the path. Gaara was too bored to sit around doing nothing and Kankuro wasn't sure what to believe. It seemed unlikely that Kallou had fallen down the wall—hell, he didn't even remember there being a well out this way. That being said, it'd been a _long_ time since he'd been allowed outside.

The walk out to where'd been before was over ten minutes long. Kankuro realized that it was no wonder he didn't remember a well out here; he'd never been allowed this far away from the institution. Kankuro sighed as they walked to the top of hill. He easily jogged down it, Gaara following suit easily. Kai swore at them, slowly starting to descend on her shaky legs.

She sighed in aggravation, realizing she wasn't going to be able to run more. How were they in such good shape? Being cooped up in doors all day kill her conditioning. "Go ahead, I'll be fine. I can't keep up."

Once they'd turned their back, compulsively sticking her tongue out at them. She could almost swore she'd heard footsteps, but when she turned around no one was there. Paranoid, she picked up the pace starting to job down the monstrous hill despite how terrible her legs wobbled. She felt something brush against her shoulder, probably a branch, and reached up casually to sweep it off. Her scream of surprise was cut short as a hand clamped over her mouth. Muffled as her high-pitched scream was it was still quite loud.

She swung her arms quickly forward and then back, digging her bony elbows into Tobi's surprisingly firm chest. How did the boys do it? They were all fit. That bothered her. When that did nothing to free her, Kai reached back and grabbed onto the metal cage of the football helmet, jerking them forward and then in any other direction she could think of. Tobi was forced to let her go in order to free himself from her grasp. That gave Kai just enough time to grab the nearest weapon she could find. A stick.

Who the hell fights with a stick?

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"HEY UH, WHERE'S Kai?" asked Kankuro suddenly, looking behind them curiously.

"She told us to go ahead; she couldn't keep up," said Gaara, his tone flat. He was thinking.

"Do you think Tobi's still out there?" asked Kankuro, stopping in his tracks.

Gaara looked over to his brother disinterestedly. "You're asking for trouble, you know." He hummed slighltly as he exhaled, noticing that Kankuro was already sprinting back up the hill. Gaara jogged after him, a dark scowl crossing his face. He was forced to skid to a stop when his brother halted directly in front of him. "What the _hell—"_

Kai was kneeling on the ground next to Tobi, humming softly to herself. Her eyes were unfocused as she stared at a bird perched on a high branch, her right hand absently rubbing circles into Tobi's back as if to sooth him. The hand she rubbed over his back was curled into a fist, clutching a blood stick, the other hand resting on the ground, fingers lazily curled around the bars of the helmet. Kankuro glanced at Gaara, raising his brows in mild surprise.

Gaara squatted down next to her, taking inventory of the damage she'd done. "Shit, she took an eye out," he snorted, poking a finger into the empty socket.

Kankuro grimaced at his brother's actions. "That's sick, Gaara."

He knelt down in front of Kai; she stared right through him as though he wasn't there. He only registered his presence when he slowly brought up a hand to poke her in the shoulder. She looked at him for a brief second, and then glanced down at the stick of her hand. She jolted visibly, smacking the stick across Tobi's face, not realizing he was still. Kankuro's lip curled in distaste when she shoved the stick back into the socket, marveling at how it stayed put.

"Get up, Kai," urged Kankuro, his long fingers curling easily around her upper arm. She didn't move at all, save for the movement he caused. Her eyes were focused on the stick and the bloody mess that had spilled onto the ground. When she noticed the blood covering her hands and clothing she whimpered.

"I made a mess... can't tell Mommy." Her voice was urgent; she looked as terrified as she sounded. "Don't tell Mommy, okay?"

"Um, yeah, fine. Now come on," he demanded, yanking on her arm again.

"Promise," she whispered. "You have to promise, she's gonna be _really _mad."

"I promise. I won't tell your... Mommy, okay?" Kankuro glared icily at his brother as the foreign word rolled off his tongue, ignoring Gaara's snort of amusement. "Now _come on." _

Kai reluctantly agreed, letting him jerk her to her feet. "All right, come on, Squirt," he muttered, his urgency for a quick space falling on deaf ears. Kai ambled along slowly, her eyes still hazy. There was a bright red mark on her forehead, just above her temple; Gaara was suspicious of a concussion.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"HOW THE FUCK'M I supposed to get her out of _there_?" grumbled Kiba, biting at his nails nervously.

"Um... I'll hold your ankles. Go in stomach first, ya know, over the rim?" suggested Naruto, leaning over the edge as he peered into the well.

Kiba scowled, as he leaned over the rim. "You just want an excuse to stare at my ass."It was dark down there, but Kallou's hair was somewhat luminescent in the dark space. "Kallou?" A ghostly pale face peered up at him. That was not a good sign, even Kiba knew that. Her eyes were so dim and lifeless, he wondered if she even knew he was there. "Kallou, I'm gonna come down and you'll have to climb up as high as you can. Naruto will have to hold me up, so we can't take forever on this, okay?"

"Okay," murmured Kallou, already pulling herself up as far as she could before stopping; there was no further toe or hand holds to move her up any further. Kiba nodded when she looked up, blinking at him slowly.

"Alright, here I come." Naruto gripped Kiba by the knees and Sakura by his feet. It was a bad decision on weight distribution, in Sakura's eyes, but Naruto was insistent.

As he was lowered into the well, face down over the rim, Kiba held his breath. His head spun with the sudden rush of blood, but he forced himself to focus. Kallou reached her hands up and he grabbed her easily around the elbows. She was nearly as tall as his own six-foot-three, though she was a few inches shy .That made the whole ordeal both easier and more complicated.

Kiba faltered, unsure of how he was supposed to climb out of the well with her. "What do I do now?"

"Pull her up!" Naruto shouted, his voice oozing exasperation.

"You moron, he can't do that!" growled a different male voice. Kiba's hazy brain couldn't process well enough to remember who it was. "She'll have to climb up, then one of us will have to grab her and yank her the rest of the way out. She's probably got hyperthermia so you'd better hurry the hell up.

"Because that makes this _so _much easier, you smug bastard!" snapped Kiba, tilting his head back down to look Kallou in the eye. "You good to climb?

Kallou bit her lip, unsure for a moment. Then she nodded. Kiba pulled his arms up towards Naruto, which had he standing would have been down, and lifted Kallou up as far as he could get her. "Crawl up my back. You'll hit the walls if you try to climb up from underneath.

She murmured something, then pressed her bare feet against the sides of the well. They were wet and slippery, but she had to make the best of what she was given. Kiba forced himself to relax his muscles then focused on making his muscles rigid in an effort to help Naruto and Sakura out. He could feel their grip slipping slightly as Kallou scrambled up his body, freezing every so often to grab onto his clothes to keep herself from falling back down. Kiba opened his eyes, which he'd closed to keep himself from flipping out. He was staring at a dead cat.

"Please hurry! I'm up to my eyeballs in dead cat!" He screeched, trying to avoid looking at the cat, the dead smell of it suddenly overwhelming his nostrils. When her brushed somewhere rather sensitive, Kiba grunted in discomfort. He could hear the two guys fighting over who had to pull out Kallou. The newer male voice didn't seem to keen on it.

Nevertheless, Kallou's weight disappeared a moment later. He shouted up at them to hurry up and pull him out already, but they seemed to be moving in slow motion. Finally a rather disgruntled shout rung out and then a hand grabbed onto his jacket, yanking him up and out of the well. Kiba twisted around in the surly grip, surprised to see Kankuro.

"Hey, uh, thanks..."

"Don't mention it; _seriously_." Kiba nodded as Kankuro rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and turned away from him. Kiba eyed the lime green jacket Kallou was wearing, immediately registering that it was Kai's. Perhaps she hadn't shoved Kallou in the well after all. Whoever had shover her in had almost killed her though; her lips were nearly purple. She shivered violently even despite the jacket. Glancing back at Kai, he noticed the harsh pink mark just above her temple; it stood out against her pale skin like an angry badge. A second later she covered the injury, massing her temples with one hand.

Kiba shrugged; he didn't really care about her injuries at the moment. He turned back to Kallou, focusing on her injuries when Kai started to walk away. He peeled off his own jacket as well, draping it across her before picking her up like a baby and carrying her. She clung to him, her shivers had and convulsive against his arms and torso. Shivering was a good sign though.

"I was so warm... but now I'm cold. It's too cold," she mumbled, her numb lips garbling her speech.

"Shh... I told you I'd protect you now let me do it," he soothed, quickening his pace. Sakura, Gaara, and Naruto followed quickly, though it seemed that Sasuke had disappeared.

Naruto groaned when he realized two of their party were missing. "Where are the other two?"

"Kai probably forgot something." Gaara sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. It was cold outside, but he wouldn't let himself shiver. He was freezing; he had hardly any body fat to keep him warm as it was. He hadn't bothered to wear a jacket. "Kankuro is with her. Last time we left her alone, we found her with Tobi, his eye gauged out."

" Is that sick little fuck dead?" inquired Sakura, shivering violently.

"Yes."

"Did she really take his eye out?" demanded Naruto, a giggle of disbelief tumbling from his lips.

"Yep." The sadistic smile that stretched across his face didn't show it, but he was... _proud_ of the annoying runt. He hadn't thought she'd had it in her, despite what her records had said. Naruto's smile wsa gone, but he didn't look any less happy. Sakura was the only unhappy camper as they headed back to the building.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

KAI EASILY CLIMBED the tree, trying to hide her brief pauses. Feeling feint with nausea was slowing her down. Her footing, sure and faultless, was a result of endless tree climbing as a child. When she finally reached her spot, high up in the tree, she hooked a finger under the strap of her bag, cringing at the way she wobbled when it pulled free. She hadn't honestly expected Kallou to be in trouble, so she hadn't bothered to take it with her.

Kai gingerly hopped down from the tree, swaying drunkenly when she landed. A strong feeling of vertigo washed over her, causing her to press her palms into her temples. She righted herself before she could fall over, Kankuro laughing when she moaned. "Shut up!"

"I didn't say a _thing,_" snickered Kankuro, raising his hands in mock surrender. Kai wandered over to the well, peering down at the dead cat within.

"Eww! Look," she hissed, moving back as Kankuor leaned in. Kai made a face, but Kankuro only shrugged.

"It's a dead cat. What's the big deal?"

"I let Kallou where my freakin' jacket! After she floated in dead cat water..." mumbled Kai. "Man, that was my favorite—my _only—_jacket."

"Oh..." Kankuro trailed off as they walked back, playing shoving her towards the well. Kai made a strange sound, losing her footing as she flailed. Kankuro sighed, reaching out to grab her arm and steady her. She sheepishly straightened her messenger back on her shoulder, rubbing her arm where he'd grabbed her. She ached.

"I think you've got a concussion." He winced when she glared at him.

"No shit, Captain Obvious. Rather unlikely that I'm hiding liquor out here and getting tipsy, eh? You think I come out here and knock a few back every now and again?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Kankuro shrugged, the corners of his mouth turning up at the idea. Kai rolled her eyes, smiling just a little bit as well.

"What happened to Tobi? I kind of blacked out after that fucking wanker head-butted me in the face... Who the hell head butts people, anyway?" (**A/n: Not British, but I LOVE to call people wankers. :)**)

"Tobi won't be for a while, if he's still alive. You took one of his eyes out," snorted Kankuro, giving her an amused look.

"You're joking! I _wish_. That ass-waffle totally deserves it." She laughed as she looked over at him, only to notice he wasn't smiling anymore. "You're legit serious?"

When Kankuro nodded, she fell silent for a moment as he'd expected, but then she did something he hadn't. She smiled triumphantly, raising her arms over her head as she shimmied her hips with glee. "Am I good, or am I good?" She spun drunkenly, still dancing as though she were drunk.

"You poke a guy's _eye_ out and you're cheering?" deadpanned Kankuro. Kai stopped dancing around, flinching when Kankuro laughed. She smiled softly, but didn't dance anymore.

She was quiet for a moment as they walked, obviously thinking about something quite heavily. "So, hey... are we like _friends _now? I thought we hated each other, or at least _you_ did..."

Kankuro rubbed over the stubble on his chin with his left hand, looking up towards the heavens, the large drops that hit him in the face splatterering across his skin. It was raining quite horribly out by now, but neither of them noticed or cared. They were already soaked, having slipped off their sandals. Walking in rubbery sandals was virtually impossible. "Yeah, I _did._But, I hate everybody so don't take that personal. But we're friends now; I didn't even know you before .

"What makes you think you do now?" She smiled at him playfully. "No one does, not even Kallou. False openness is a lifesaver for secrets. Try it some time. You'll figure out who can keep secrets and who can't."

Kankuro groaned. "So why did you even get all mad at her then? For telling your _fake_ secrets? They weren't even real, why get pissed?"

"Seemed legit, though, huh?" Kai smirked, pleased to see the clouds of confusion clearing from his expression. A smile met his lips as realization dawned. "That's _right._ I'm _that _good. I know the limits of my body, at least in regards to pills. I _knew_ which ones to take without killing mself. I almost slipped up and straight up confronted her but I figured I'd have more fun if I just hammed it up. I _hate_ solitary with a passion, but I'd rather waste three days in there than ruin all my hard work. Even if you didn't have me pegged... I have to be a good performer, keep them guessing... or I'll get picked off and torn apart like Sakura."

"You genius, little squirt," chortled Kankuro, lacing his hands behind his head. "Hmm. Gaara's the only one who knows anything about me. My sister doesn't know me at all, but that can't be helped. Couldn't tell her anything _important_ if my life depended on it."

Kankuro's mouth snapped shut suddenly, looking up the hill. They'd come to a stop some minutes ago, but he couldn't remember stopping. Kai started to walk again when he made a remark about it, still moving slowly. She turned to him, words already leaving her mouth. "It's not to hard. Fake it till you make it."

"Rhymes? You're kidding me, you gotta have better than that."

"Oh I have more, mister. When in doubt _shout! _Say _no _and go! Both effective in avoiding rape, drugs pushing, and defying your parents." Kankuro's face twisted slightly at her words, but then smoothed itself out. Kai sighed, letting her head droop drowsily as they walked. She was quite tired- it felt like the rain was sapping all her strength. She was always tired on rainy days- it was just how she was.

"What about Tobi?" She asked suddenly, not bothering to lift her head.

"What about him?"

"Well... we didn't just leave him out here, did we?" Kankuro, obviously outraged by this, halted, grabbing her by the shoulders so he could spin her around and look her in the eye.

"You still feel sorry for that asshole? He tried to _kill_ you!" Kankuro's brows drew together when she snorted disdainfully.

"Who said anything about feeling sorry? I'm scared of that bastard. I hope he rots in hell. But, if they find the body that will be awkward. We have to tell Tsunade or something. If we confess, and it's self defense they can't pin anything on us."

Kankuro let go of her arm and they started walking again. "You know, I'm starting to wonder if you beat up _all _your friends like this, Kankuro. I'm going to have a purple arm tomorrow." Kai scowled, lifting her drenched sleeved.

"Sorry," he grunted, scratching sheepishly at the nape of his neck. Kai shrugged it off with a smile, mentioning that she'd had worse. Kankuro bristled momentarily, and then quashed the uncalled for emotion. Why was he irritated with that? He shoved the thought away, repressing it like he did everything else.

"When we get back, I'm sleeping. Is it even possible to feel this tired?"

"Symptom of a concussion," shrugged Kankuro.

Kai raised a bemused brow. " All right, Mister Smarty Pants. How do you know so much about concussions and hypothermia?

"With Gaara as a brother, you can't help but learn about various medical injuries as you acquire them."

Kai nodded, slightly sad that Gaara caused him so much grief. She squealed at the sight of the building, forgetting her sympathy. "I'm going to sleep so _hard_. If I can fall asleep. But I if I do... Oh that pillow won't know what hit it.

Kankuro rolled his eyes, letting out a sarcastic "Weee."

"You're just jealous you can't sleep like me," she snapped, knowing full-well how perverted her words sounded. Now was not a time to be rude. It was a time to rejoice because she sleep.

Kankuro rolled his eyes, looking down at himself, realizing how soaked he was. So was she. There was _his _shower for the day.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

THE BED WAS warm and toast, the lines crisp and fresh against her tender skin, and most importantly of all, she was no longer drenched. Kallou tried to open her eyes but they felt weighed down. Kallou endeavored to open them a little, pleased to find that she could. She was just too tired to keep them open for long.

The fact that the room was empty greatly disappointed her. No one had even stayed to make sure she was okay... What kind of friends didn't come to visit when you were in the hospital?

"Hon, don't look so pissed," whispered the Infirmary Mother, brushing a strand of hair out of Kallou's eyes. The Infirmary Mother treated all patients differently, depending on their history, and she knew that it would be okay to act in such towards Kallou. Kallou leaned slightly into motherly touch, stopping herself when she felt awkard.

"Why should I? None of my friends are here—they should be here!" protested Kallou, grasping at her throat when she noticed how gravelly her voice was. It literally hurt to speak. Immy, Kallou's preferred term of affection for the Infirmary Mother, had originated when Kallou was fifteen. She smiled again, brushing another strand of hair from Kallou's face.

"They _were_ her, but Tsunade had to have them for a group meeting. Apparently one of your friends, a girl, told Tsunade that _another _member of your wing... ruined the eye of the boy who attacked you." Kallou's face clouded at the thought of the word friend. She wondered absently if her and Kai were friends again. She certainly hoped so.

"Which friend?"

"The shorter one of the two girls. The other had pink hair."

"Oh, Sakura... Sakura did it?"

"No, not Sakura. The other one. She even gave up her jacket for you, as cold as it is out there. A little birdy tells me that you two were on the outs," Immy said softly, a smile tugging at her lips. "I doubt that you are on the outs anymore."

This coaxed a smile from Kallou, a truly tough task. Coaxing smiles from the injured was Immy's true talent; it made patients feel better than any medicine ever could. Kallou leaned back against her pillows peacefully, closing her eyes. Immy kissed her lightly on the forehead.

Immy was the kind of Infirmary mother that could immediately see what her patients needed emotionally and was usually able to deliver. Kallou urged herself back to sleep, comforted by the warm bed, the smell of fresh lines, and the presence of Immy. Being around killers certainly provided an undeniable rush, but it was to take a break from it for a while. Usually this was where she ended up when she needed a break from it all; she'd fake an illness, knowing that Tsunade would send her here. Despite their squabbles, Tsunade was glad to be able to help her.

She let the sleep whisk her away to a place where she could be surrounded by the people who loved her and would do anything for her. She dreamed of having all her friends from here, normal and regular in their intense friendships. That was what she wanted. Some tiny feeling of normalcy in a place that never had any, only warped and bent views of it... it would have been nice. But normal was hard for people just as equally warped and twisted as their psyches .

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"WHY DID NO one go to get help?" demanded Tsunade. She was quite relaxed, despite her harsh words. She was more worried about Kallou than anything. She didn't care so much about Tobi getting his eye run through with a stick as she did him trying to drown Kallou in a well. Kallou was one of her favorite patients, simply because she didn't kill anybody too often and was quite reserved. But, Lord _help _them should Kallou ever go on a rampage. But we've digressed—back to the matter at hand.

"We _told _you already; there wasn't time!" Kai stressed, rubbing both temples with a single hand. Her marred forehead had been covered during the whole conversation, though not intentionally. Her head was throbbing to the point she felt ready to simultaneously cry and vomit. She wasn't sure if her vision was swimming due to tears of frustration of her headache.

"Her lips were purple when I pulled her out, she was hypothermic already." Kankuro pointed out, earning surprised and impressed looks from everyone in the room. Kankuro growled in irritation. "God, just because I don't _look_ like a dweeb doesn't make me automatically retarded."

"Why did no one think to bring Tobi in? Bt the time our team found him, he was nearly dead—"

"And you're worried about _him?_ If anything, we're the good killers, when ya really _think _about it! You don't even have to think real hard, just a little bit!" protest Kiba, his voice arching into a whine.

"Yeah. Morals! You want 'em, we got 'em!" interjected Naruto.

"We only kill those who annoy us," nodded Sasuke. Kai shot him a vicious glare. "Besides, I tried to get inside to get help, but the doors were oh-so-cleverly _locked." _

"Look, Tobi is lucky to be alive. Yes, Sasuke's morals are shaky. But we did him a favor in letting him live. But Sasuke and Naruto are right. We _do_ have morals; if he can't live his life like a regular, maybe he doesn't deserve to. Now he'll think twice before trying to kill the people who help him."

"Oh and none of _you_ have attempted to kill our nurses?" snapped Tsunade, her face paling in anger.

"That's different!" barked Naruto, his hands splaying wide with indignation. Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a low, calming breath.

"Naruto, I beg you, _please _explain how the _hell _what you people do to my nurses and other patients is different." Tsunade didn't look at him as she awaited her answer, instead pinching down even harder on the bridge of her nose.

"We kill people for reasons. There's always a reason, no matter how simple or complex. Thing don't happen with a reason for us. Some people kill because they can, like Tobi. That's what he told kai. But we—well at least I do—kill people for a reason. There's always something they've done, something that constitutes what thye get. They don't deserve to live, and it's not right for them to live after what they've done." Naruto took a deep breath, all of his previous rant having been let out in a single breath. "Your nurses, well... they make us feel how we don't want to feel. If we wanted to be drugged up we'd have no problem with our nurses. Right, Shikamaru? He's never had a problem with his nurses!" Naruto cast a knowing glance to Shikamaru who smirked and nodded.

"I'll be damned. Naruto that is the most insightful thing you've ever told me in all of your years of being here. I must say remind you though; it is not your place to decide who lives and dies. I'd tell you it's God's, but that would be impartial to religion laws. So for the sake of abiding the law, it's the _state's_ decision who is fit to live and die." Tsunade offered a small humor at the irony of it all. "As much as my management might think you deserve Solitary, I'm letting you off—just this _once." _Tsunade closed her eyes, her head throbbing when they all whooped, sighed in relief, or cheered loudly. When they fell silent she continued. "_Just _because it was self defense. This _does not_ ensure that if you kill someone you'll be exempt from punishment, but..."

"This time there were extenuating circumstances?" offered Kai, beaming with pride when Tsunade nodded. This should have seemed severe to all of them, but they were all so calm, rational even. They reall _were _crazy to be so calm and unworried by this. But they were already in the worse place to could be, weren't they.

Tsunade frowned, noticing the large bruise on Kai's temple and immediately sent her to the Infirmary after inquiring about how Kai had gotten it. Kai wobbled sheepishly as she stood. Tsunade smacked herself in the face, covering her face with her hands. "_Somebody_ take her to the infirmary."

"I'll take her! I need to see Kallou anyway," said Kiba, a slight smile tugging on his lips as he silently pleaded with Tsunade. She nodded, waving a hand to send them off. She knew that Kiba had a thing for Kallou, but she didn't care. She just couldn't have Kai passing out in her hallways.

Tsunade glanced over at Gaara, suddenly realizing he hadn't said a word the entire time... he was... Sleeping. Tsunade shook her head, baffled at the sight. She smile when she realized that he was indeed asleep. Perhaps being around other people just as demented as he was put him at ease. Her plan was working.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

A FEW HOURS later, all of them, save for Kallou, were curled up on the couch in their most comfortable pajamas watching a romantic-comedy. Why a romantic comedy? It was the only movie on; they weren't allowed to watch scary movies or things of that nature.

Gaara was bored out of his mind, not to mention that his body was wired. His brother, Naruto, and Kai were all passed out on the floor. Gaara had banished them from the house when they'd begun to rough-house and someone had smacked him in the face. Kai had refused to admit that she'd slapped him, adamantly claiming that she'd simply high-fived his face. He'd have retaliated if he knew that Kankuro wouldn't retaliate. He could tell his brother was slightly enamored. So instead he'd opted to give her his class 'A' glare, which caused her to back down immediately, remember just how dangerous he was.

But now they were asleep, and only Sakura and Kiba were sitting on the couch. Kiba was drifting in and out of sleep, as was Sakura. There was _nothing_ to do. Gaara crept closer to Kiba, eyeing him closely to make sure that he was still asleep.

When he was sure the other boy was indeed a sleep, he silently crawled over to where Sakura slept, eyeing her more carefully than he had Kiba. He'd read from the files, which Temari had handed him in a surprisingly discreet fashion after dinner, that Sakura had walked in to find her boyfriend in the process of banging her sister and had somehow run her over. He knew what he was about to do and even had the slight premise that he'd enjoy it. Her eyes were closed, but her lips were parted. Was _he _going to get anything out of it besides a sick rush? He didn't think so, but he'd have to pull it off, first.

Gaara glanced around once more before leaned over her, lowering his face closer.

**Author's Note- That's all folks! :) Leave me a review! :D Hahhaa, just kidding . There's more.:)Btw, it continues in Sakura's point of view.**

He ran his tongue across her lower lip, his own lips curving upwards in a smirk when she stirred slightly, lifting her chin up to him. He pressed his lips against hers more fully, roughly claiming his prize. Sakura's eyes didn't open as he rubbed his tongue against hers, coaxing a reaction out of her. She kissed him back lazily at first, then more passionately. Gaara's eyes were open the whole time, the actual kiss meaning nothing more to him than a quick rush adrenaline.

When he bit her lip, something Sai didn't do very often, Sakura opened her eyes. She squeaked when she realized that it wasn't Sai, as she had dreamed it was, but Gaara instead. She tried to pull away, but Gaara had her cornered. He pressed his lips back against hers, trying to coax her into it. Sakura tried to press her lips together, refusing him, but her resolved diminished when licked and nibbled at her lower lip.

Sakura tentatively kissed back, trying to weigh the pros and cons in her head, but he was such a damned good kisser she couldn't help but just go along with it. She noticed that his eyes never closed; she knew the kiss didn't mean anything to him. She didn't care, either. It was nice to be kissed and touched like this after such a long period of not having it at all. After what felt like an eternity of cold glares and stony caresses, she would definitely settle for this. Sai had been giving her the signs, but she hadn't been reading t hem. With Gaara, she didn't need to look for signs. He didn't beat around the bush. He took what he wanted.

Gaara kissed her even more roughly, the hands that had been propping him up now tightly entrenching themselves in her hair, yanking her head back whenever she had the gall to try and look him in the eyes. So, instead, she closed her eyes, imagining that he was someone else, someone she'd loved. No matter how she twisted it, it was undeniable that she still loved him; she still had his picture for God's sake!

She could visualize him now, her eyes wide shut as he made out with him. She submitted to him, something Sai had never really made her do. Even despite the out-of-character acting, she could mimic Sai's imaginary movements with Gaara's. She sighed as he kissed her collarbone, something she recognized. Sai had done that. But he wsn't a nibbler, or a biter, as Gaara was. Gaara had an angry sexuality about him, one that read 'Get-On-Board-Or-Get-The-Fuck-Off-My-Boat."

His hands were on her breasts now, groping her in full view of anyone that might be awake. She didn't care—she _couldn't _care. Sakura repressed a moan when he brushed his hand against a particularly sensitive spot; she could feel his lips take the shape of a slightly smile against her shoulder. He repeated his action, this time eliciting the moan that had evaded him.

"Sai!"

**Author's Note- Okay, so thought I'd leave you a little cliff. :) Bwahahaha. Okay so don't hate me. :) But _do _leave a review. :D I'll leave a few options for ya. :)**

**A- Kisame comes into play as the creepy, psycho chef. :) Have I mentioned that he's a cannibal? No... now's a good time, huh? :D**

**B- Tobi returns! Do you want Tobi returned to the story?**

**C- Tobi dies- either _because _of his eye injury, or by... other circumstances * Insert devious wink and giggle here! :D ***

**D- Kallou and Kiba get a LITTLE bit steamier. :) Nothing tooooo graphic JUST yet. :D**

E- All the relationships get moved along a little bit further.


	10. The Cusp of the Verge

GAARA'S FACE WAS even with hers, his eyes burning into hers with a burning frustration. There was another emotion buried deep within that glare, but she couldn't figure out what it was. It couldn't be good, though, she knew that. He'd been planning on a meaningless fling; something to make him feel better about himself and not so damned bore. Now his plans were ruined by her carless utterance.

He extracted himself from her, pulling away to hop over the back of the couch and stomp to his room. The door slammed loudly; there were audible grunts and swears of frustration as people were jolted from sleep by the loud sound.

"Mak!" grunted Kai, burrowing closer to the closest heat source. "Five more minutes..."

Sakura closed her eyes, glad to be relieved from conversation. At least _she _wasn't awake. That would have been beyond uncomfortable.

Kankuro grunted, shoving Kai away from himself and back towards Naruto. Kai sighed in her sleep, rolling over to snuggle with Naruto. "Smokey, you've gotten fat," yawned Kai, not bothering to open her eyes as she patted a bewildered Naruto on the head.

"Night, Kai," he whispered, an amused grin stretched across his face. At least she was entertaining.

"Shut up, Smokey. Dogs... don't... talk." Kai shut her mouth, letting sleep pull her under. Naruto shrugged, dropping his face back onto the floor. He left her lay as she was; he didn't mind cuddling. Kankuro made a face, then burrowed his face back into his pillow, wincing when his right arm throbbed. He was too tired to listen to their bullshit or try to understand it. Pulling Kallou and Kiba out of the well had trashed his arm; it hadn't started hurting until he fell asleep.

Sakura sighed, glancing across the couch. Kiba eyed her knowingly, which caused a deep blush to stain her cheeks. He'd seen.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"JESUS _FUCKING_ CHRIST!" bellowed a young man with gray hair. It was actually platinum blonde, but he wasn't allowed out in the sun enough for it to be light. So it looked deep gray, despite his youthful complexion.

_ "_Shut up, Hidan," snapped Kisame, running an aggravated hand down his face. Hidan was new to the wing, but they got along alright.

"But there's no fucking bathroom! They can't throw us in here and not let us use the god-damned forsaken, fucking bathroom!" burst Hidan, throwing himself into one of the libraries most comfortable seats; Kai's seat. Kai, who was still getting books, hadn't noticed yet. She wouldn't be happy when she got back.

"That little bitch? She's got about as much fight in her as my mother." Hidan snickered at the shocked look on Naruto's face, then glanced back down to his books. He wearily crossed his legs, leaning onto his first as he read.

"Damn. I'm so sorry," breathed Naruto, his voice holding a tone of reverence. "If she's as big of a bitch as Kai, wow. That sucks."

"Huh? The fuck you talking 'bout, '_sorry?'" _Hidan's confused glared only amused Naruto more; he smirked brilliantly in response.

"I just feel bad for you is all. Your mom must have been a _royal_ bitch at that special time of the month." Hidan laughed at this, really laughed, and Naruto maintained his amused face, trying not to look as confused as he felt. He'd not been prepared for that response from Hidan.

"You're right. Come to think of it... she _was_ a bitch. A nasty bitch. But, she was always a bitch, and my father was a fucking asshole motherfucker. Makes her seem all the better," laughed Hidan, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes. Kai, now walking back to her seat, narrowed her eyes in distaste when she noticed Hidan in her chair. She relaxed when Hidan stood up, splaying his hands wide as if he were modeling the chair for her. "It's all yours, miss bitchy britches."

"Hey! I'm not a bitch!" protested Kai, her arms dropping to her sides. "Am I?"

"Kai," offered Naruto, deflecting the coughs and snorts of dislbelief. "Only when you're... punctual. Or mad."

"Oh! Okay," said Kai. That was easier than had been expected. She immediately sat down in her chair, flipping upside down. Kankuro scowled, asking her why she did that. "Cuz. It's comfy! And it's supposed to like... stimulate your brain. Gives me a headache after a while, though..."

"You're an idiot," he sighed, shaking his head as he shifted his attention back to his novel.

Kiba shifted uncomfortably, unable to look at Sakura without thinking about Gaara on top of her, pawing her. Her deep breathy moan... to say he wasn't attracted to her would be a lie, but he couldn't be attracted to her right now. That would be wrong. He hadn't said anything, as he had willingly promised Sakura he wouldn't, but he was still uncomfortable. At least she was at the Library desk, chatting with Lib.

"Kankuro, why do you put up with her?" inquired TenTen, scowling as she looked down at Kai, whose face was turning slightly red from laying upside down. Kai looked up at TenTen, who stood in front of her with her arms crossed angrily over her chest, and frowned. Now her feelings were hurt.

Shikamaru and Kiba bowed their heads, suddenly absorbed in their books. This could get awkward, fast. That didn't mean they wouldn't watch though; cat-fights were always interesting, and with girls like this it could get very dangerous very quickly. It would have been stupid _not_ to watch.

"What does it matter to _you_ why he does? He doesn't even _like _you!" retorted Kai, her voice calm—for now. She didn't want to overreact; she had no clue what was going on.

"What does it matter what _I_ think. Mind your own business. I'm not talking to you," snapped TenTen, turning her gaze to Kankuro, who sat next to Kai. Kankuro's lips parted in confusion.

"_What_?"

"You're talking _about_ me, so it _is_ my business, you cantankerous little termite," growled Kai, her head already beginning to pound. "What crawled up your ass and started biting? I haven't done a _thing_ to you."

"What did you just call me?" demanded TenTen, squatting down to Kai's level.

"I _called_ you a moody little _bitch_, if that was too eloquently put for such an asinine, anal-retentive moron such as yourself," snarled Kai. "Naruto, do you smell something?"

"I don't know... what do you smell guys?" Naruto was confused, though his face didn't show it. His tone openly mocked TenTen; no one mocked his best friend and got away with it. TenTen straightened up immediately, unsure of what Kai was talking about.

"You don't smell that? It smells kinda crispy... I think something's _burnt_," murmured Kai, actually looking concerned. Even Gaara had to smirk at the bewildered expression on TenTen's face.

"What are you _talking about?" _demanded TenTen, an angry brush spreading across her pretty face.

Sasuke shook his head, disgusted with their childish antics. He didn't find it nearly as amusing as they did; he just wanted them to be quiet. He looked up again when he heard a high-pitched scream, a thump, and a resulting shriek of pain. TenTen leered once more at Kai, waved to Kankuro, and then stomped off to the stacks to find a dictionary.

Kai cradled her head in her hands, her face scrunched up in an ugly mask of pain. The blood emanating from her nose overflowed, spilling into her mouth causing her to choke on it. Kai flipped over quickly, coughing as she tried to clear her airways. "Ugh," she spoke thickly, her nasal passages clogged with blood, "I think I oughta see the nurse."

With that she staggered over to Lib, trying to walk like a normal human being and failing miserably.

"So, is anyone up for seeing the ladies? Er, I mean _the _lady? And by that I mean Kall—"

"We get it, Kiba," laughed Naruto.

Gaara sighed, flipping the page in his book. "No."  
"Aw!" Kiba's eyes widened, imploring them. "Please? Who wants to go with me?"  
"I'll go. She's probably bored out of her mind," reasoned Naruto, throwing down his porn. He'd selected "The Mixed-Treats bag. It had lesbian porn, male only porn, and even hetero action. He like a variety.

"I'm game. Better than being stuck with crazy lady over there. I want to puke everytime she makes googly eyes at me," Kankuro muttered. He sighed with angst as he heaved himself from the chair, closing his eyes. "You coming Gaara ?"  
"No."  
Kankuro lowered his eyes. "Oh. ...Okay." He sighed, glancing over at Shikamaru and Sasuke. When neither of them looked up, he turned to leave. He felt rather strange going somewhere and doing something without his brother.

As Kankuro, Kiba, and Naruto went to Lib to get their passes so they could leave, Sakura wandered back from the stacks. She sat down with a confused look, wondering where everyone was heading off to. "Where're _they_ going?"

"Didn't you see Kai's face?" Sasuke snorted, not bothering to repress his laugh. When Sakura shook her head 'no' he sighed, which he did way too much in Sakura's opinions. Why did everyone sigh all the time? It was utterly demeaning to have someone sigh in aggravation when you asked a simple question.

"TenTen kicked her in the face because Kai used words that are too big for her little brain. That, and TenTen has the hots for Kankuro but he'd rather sit around reading with Kai and Naruto," chortled Hidan. He frowned when his own roommates glared at him; they didn't appreciate their roommate being made fun of.

"TenTen is so sweet, how dare—" started Sakura.

"No she's not," laughed Shikamaru, his face lighting up with the first real laugh Sakura had ever seen. She had to admit, it looked good on him. "Talk about crazy. She's flipped off the happy cart like a freaking salmon. She's got issues; I bet she's one of those closet crazies who acts perfect around the doctors and then once she's alone the freak comes out to play."

"You're not kidding?" Sakura glanced to Gaara for conformation, knowing that desire their odd altercation he was still a reliable truth detector. He nodded 'yes,' signifying that they weren't kidding. Sakura sighed, deflating visibly as she sat back. "I thought _you_ guys were unpredictable."

"Surprise!" shouting Kisame, splaying his hands wide in a pantomime of happiness. Lib practically jumped out of her chair, immediately zeroing in on him and giving him a wicked glare. "Sorry!" he hissed, smiling lightly when she nodded.

Genma groaned, leaning back to stare at the ceiling. They were all morons. "Just shut up, Kisame." At this rate, he'd never get any pussy. He sure as hell didn't want anymore action from TenTen—crazy sex was one thing when it happened every once in a while. With her it was too much for it to be like that everytime. Crazy sex was his favorite sex and she made it boring.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"wHAT THE HELLl happened to you?" Kallou was shocked to the see the bloody state of Kai's face.

Kai's reply was muffed. "TenTen; bitch kicked me."  
Kai sighed and then groaned when Immy, upon seeing her current state, only sighed and pulled a fresh towel from the cabinet. Kai had been trying to stem the flow of the bleeding with the edge of her shirt, but had obviously not succeeded. Immy pressed the towel down onto Kai's face, eliciting a weary groan. "What did you get into now?"

"IT wasn't my fault this time! I didn't even _start _it!" Kai retorted in defense. She groaned again when Immy pressed down harder. She'd been sure, that even though she couldn't prove it, Immy didn't like her even after all the times she'd been there. She'd been sure to be polite, though admittedly she hadn't attempted being nice.

"Well, you must have done something," the older woman rationalized, pushing Kai's hair away from bloody face. "Look up at the ceiling, please."  
"Well, I mean, I called her... _something _but that was only after she started being a complete and total bi—I mean _jerk!_" Kai's face scrunched up sourly as she tried to think of what had happened.

"Aha, so you _did_ provoke her."

"What? No! She provoked _me_!" whined Kai, wincing as her jaw cracked.

Immy sighed, instructing Kai to hold the towel for a moment. "You shouldn't have bought into it! You're not very hard to provoke, once you get riled up..." Immy trailed off as she pulled a small icepack from the little fridge, pressing it into the top of the towel in replacement of her hand.

"Yeah well... Yeah." Kai knew she was right, but she couldn't help herself sometimes.

Immy tsk'd when she saw Kankuro, and Naruto strolling into her room at a leisurely pace. "I assume you have passes?"

"Yep," answered Naruto, flashing the piece of paper quickly before he reached out to push Kai's head forward. "Why do you have it tilted back? It's just gonna run down your throat. Besides, it clots better if you tilt forward. How are you makin' out, Kallou?"

Immy ignored him, turning instead to look at Kankuro's. Kallou smiled, just a little, and told him she was doing just fine. Kai smiled, winking at Kallou. "I _told _you!" Kai was referring to Immy's dislike of her, something Kallou and she had discussed at length many a time. "Somedays I just wanna choke the life out of her!"  
"Hey, no choking your nurse!" chided Immy, a slight smile coming to her lips.

Kankuro cocked a surprised brow, allowing himself to laugh a little bit. "Yeah! We don't need a repeat of Tobi. Although choking is less messy..."

"You men these days!" giggled Kai, her voice a little bit cleared. Her bangs hung in her eyes, but Kankuro could imagine her expression with ease. Immy smile wryly, making an "oh-stop-it-you" face as she stood up to throw some garbage away. Maybe she didn't hate Kai.

"Well, my ladies and gentlemen, I am getting ready to leave. My shift is almost over and I have to pick up my dry-cleaning or they will charge extra. Are you good to stay here for about five minutes?"

"Yeah," Kai nodded, exhaling slowly. "My head hurts, though..."

"I'll make sure to tell the next orderly to get you something, okay?" Immy surprised Kai with her sudden kindness. Kai nodded slowly in response, remembering to say thank you as Immy walked away. "No problem, hon."

"So, Kall, how are ya! How ya been? They treating you okay?" demanded Kiba, jogging thorugh the doorway. Kallou's face brightened of its own volition before she could hide the sudden glow. The others elbowed each other knowingly.

"Oh, ya know, just hanging in there." She shrugged, looking down at her lap for a second.

"Good!" Kiba faltered awkwardly, unsure of what to say for a moment. He plopped down on the bed next to her, trying to think of something else to say. Kankuro and Naruto backed away from the bed, moving closer to Kai who stood up woozily.

"Hey, um, we're just gonna..." Kai trailed off, making motions to indicate that the trio would be moving to the other side of the room. "It's a little crowded over here... yeah..."  
Kankuro snorted and Naruto grinned wolfishly at the facial expressions her comment evoked. Kai rolled her eyes at their stupidity. It was plain to everyone else that Kallou and Kiba shared certain 'feelings' for one another but they were both oblivious to what they wanted. Those two still thought they were just friends but in truth they were quickly spiraling off into a romance. The goofy-ass smile on Kiba's face had said more than his awkward entrance ever could have.

Kai wobbled slightly, still woozy from the loss of her equilibrium as well as the blood loss, even if only slight. Naruto grabbed her arm to steady her but only ended up disturbing her balance even further. "Sorry! It was an accident..."

"It's okay..." Kai said with a sigh, quite literally throwing herself onto the bed that was all the way at the other end of the room. "Well shit... I forgot what I going to say."

"You're gonna have to chill out for the next few days; your brain has to heal you know," Kankuro pointed out. Kai stuck out her tongue, and Kankuro winced when he saw its blood red color. "Did you bit your tongue?"

"Nah. I was just up-side-down and the blood sort of overflowed. I dunno—I think it might have started going into my mouth when Immy tilted it back." Kai lifted the bloody towel from her face as she spoke. The flow had stopped, but her face was still splotched with blood some places. Her teeth tinged with pink, her tongue a deep red.

Immy walked out, purse in hand, nodding curtly to them before sauntering down the long aisle of beds and curtains that hid certain individuals. She swooped down to give Kallou a hug before departing. Then she was gone, leaving them alone in the large room. But she trusted them, to an extent at least, to be safe in the five minutes that it took for the other orderly to get there.

Kai laid back, closing her eyes as she let out a long, drawn out exhalation. Her head pounded in time to her heartbeat, her vision blurring in and out. She kept her eyes closed as she talked to her friends, but Kankuro opted to pace back and forth at the foot of her bed as his boredom grew.

"What I few pulled a prank?" Naruto asked, not looking up from the table that he was carving his name into. Kankuro wheeled around, mid-pace, to join the conversation.

"What kind?" prodded Kai, looking for reasoning in Naruto's face.

When he didn't answer, Kankuro growled impatiently. "Come on, what kind?"

"Well," started Naruto, rubbing his nose. "What if we just... behave? Like to throw 'em off. I'm thinking if we behave... maybe we'll get what we need."  
"I know what _I_ need," muttered Kai.

"What are you talking about?" demanded Kankuro, folding his arms across his chest in irritation.

"I _told_ you! I'm going to k—" Kai broke off when the door swung open loudly, a surly looking old man stomping into the room.

"Out. Visiting hours are over. They start again in two hours," he snapped, trying to flatten the wispy gray hairs that were sticking up on his forehead.

"I actually need something," Kai said airily, wiggling her bloody towel. "I have a concussion. Some moron kicked me again..."

The orderly nodded, checking the notes that Immy had left. Indeed, her name was marked down. "Right. You three!" He gestured to the boys. "Out. Miss Otokogi, your medicine will take just a moment."

Kankuro and Naruto groaned, stomping over to the door as slowly as they could. Kiba bade Kallou goodbye; she smiled to him and waved.

"Here you are," the orderly said shortly, handing Kai too plastic cups. Kai popped the pills into her mouth and washed them down with the small amount of water in the other cup. "Off you go. Go on, missy."  
Kai nodded, murmuring her thanks before wandering slowly down the aisle. "Bye, Kal."  
"Bye," Kallou whispered. She sighed again. "I get out tomorrow morning. See you in Lit."

Kai nodded and smiled before slipping out the door and into the hallway. She greeted Naruto and Kankuro with a dual-wave. They'd waited for her, afraid of the words that she hadn't had the chance to say.

"What were you going to do," questioned Naruto, poking her in the side. Kai squealed and lurched to the side, bumping into Kiba.

"Simple. I kill TenTen." A dreamy smile creeped across her face.

Kankuro shook his head in annoyance. "No. You're not."

"Why the hell _not_? The only thing worse than this place is... well, solitary or lethal injection. And either would be preferable to the other," snapped Kai, wrenching herself free of their gasp when she stumbled.

"Because, she's likely to kill herself," mused Kankuro. When Kai made a face, he quickly continued. "She always wears long-sleeved shirts and she's a closet bitch. She has self-esteem issues. She's got like a zillion scars on her arms. When she kicked you, her sleeves slipped up a bit. She's obviously suicidal. Just give it time. She'll either kill herself of be out of here before killing her is worthwhile.

Kai smiled as they walked back to the library. Naruto shoved her playfully towards the mens' bathroom; Kai grabbed his sleeves, digging her nails into his arms. "Arse!"

He smiled in response, but frowned when she tugged on his sleeve. "What?"

"Naruto? I'm tired..." She confided, her eyes drooping in agreement with her statement.

"So? What the heck do you want me to do; carry you?" He groaned when her face brightened.

"Yes! Yes! I'd love that! Would you please?" She clasped her hands over her heart and he sighed.

"Fine..." Naruto stopped, squatting down so she could climb aboard. He was taller than her five-two-and-a-half by only three inches, but he felt bad for her.

"I wish you were my brother, Nono."

He beamed at this, his face brightening when he realized she wouldn't make _too_ bad of a sister. "Thanks, Kai. I _try,"_ he said, giggling when she played with his hair. He had managed to use the perfect amount of hair-gel. It was soft and smooth instead of crunchy and his hair still managed to be spiky and crazy wild. It was his _thing_.

"You guys are weird." Kankuro muttered, making a disgusted face. Naruto and Kai both stuck their tongues out at him.

"What? I'm tired _and_ he's comfy." To accentuate this statement, Kai rested her chin on Naruto's head and closed her eyes in content. Kankuro sighed in defeat and shook his head with a soft smile. IT was incredible how the people that'd he'd, at first meeting them, wanted to kill had become his friends.

"Thanks, Kai. I _try._" Naruto giggled when she played with his hair. He had managed to use the perfect amount of hair gel- it was soft and smooth instead of crunchy, and his hair still managed to be spiky and crazy wild. It was his thing. Maybe it was because they didn't look to be different than what they were; they were themselves and nothing else.

* * *

[.-_-.]

HE DIDN'T KNOW if it was truly possible to hate someone as much as he felt he hated her right now, but he didn't truly care either. He wasn't going to be thrown off by some little _girl._

The feelings she made him feel were of the same sort he'd learned to associate with his father. They weren't the sort of feelings he was apt to welcome with open arms, either. They made him feel confused and violated, unsure of whether he wanted to kill her very violently or fuck her brains out.

Gaara angrily forked another bite of the disgusting meatloaf into his mouth, savoring the disgusting flavor. She'd been distracting him so she could get the last 'good' meal, leaving him and the rest of people in line with the deadly meatloaf.

Kai, Naruto, and Kankuro had all surprisingly coughed up some of their lunch to share with him, but he'd refused their offers. He was going to eat this food if it killed him. However, that was easier said than done as part of him was worried to a certain degree that it just might.

Gaara glared at Sakura, boredom obvious in his face. When she smiled cheekily at him, and bit into her pizza, his face rearranged into a mask of irritability. The pizza, which should be noted as _just _as foul as the meatloaf, held a sixty percent _less _chance of death.

After ten minutes of watching him force-feed himself, Kallou sighed and shoves his hands away from his plate, dropping half of her sandwich onto it. Gaara looked up, mildly surprised by her generosity and dually irritated that she'd touched him. "Just eat it, before I change my mind," she whispered in monotone.

Garaa nodded only slightly; she smirked in return, nodding ever-so-slightly. At this rate, he'd do anything to get food other than the damned meatloaf. Forcing himself to eat it had been a pig-headed decision.

He still had to eat it though, to prove that Sakura hadn't deterred him.

Kankuro made a mournful face, staring at his nearly empty plate. He whimpered slightly as he passed his brother the slice of cake he'd be saving for last, looking away when Naruto and Kai did the same with the food they had left.

They were morons. They would do this for him even though he knew they were pretty much certain they'd never get any sort of reciprocity from him. Would he ever return the favor? Maybe. They didn't expect him to do so, which would make it all the more satisfying if he surprised them with a deed of kindess.

Gaara wolfed down the rest of the meatloaf portion of his lunch and then slowly finished the rest. When the buzzer rang out to signify the end of their lunch period, the gang slowly rose from their chairs, each of them making their way to their wing slowly.

Their classes that day—all of them—had been rigorous and unnecessarily hard. However, they'd all done well; their IQ's were higher than average, at least most of them. A few them even qualified as genius. Only a couple of them were of average intelligence, but that didn't bother any of them. Kai and Naruto often helped the others who didn't understand the material.

Orochimaru had order a six-page fiction composition which only Kiba, Genma, and Kisame had not finished. Kai's had been read aloud, much to her chagrin.  
Kakashi had held a test on the ancient Roman empire; what a massive test it had been. Only Gaara and Shikamaru had finished.

Deidara had demanded—literally _demanded_—an immaculate acrylic painting that was to be finished over the course of two days. IT was on the subject of a peer—they had to paint a classmate.

Iruka had given them all new material to learn that day, followed with massive amounts of math homework to ensure that his teachings sunk in.

Gaara was the first to fling himself down onto couch when they returned to their wing. He lazily turned the TV on, not bothering to readjust himself so he was more comfortable. Half of them did the same, groaning as they dropped onto the couch and floor. IT had been a long day and they were already waiting for it to end, though it was hardly after two-thirty.

Kallou and Kiba bantered quietly on the floor, discussing their family matters. While Gaara couldn't hear what they were saying, he could read their lips well enough to get the gist of what they were discussing. Not that he didn't know their history all ready; je read every detail in those files more than three times. The files wedged between the bunk and mattress, carefully hidden so that even if someone were to get on the floor to look underneath the bed, they wouldn't see the files. One would have to crawl under the bed, lie on their back, and look directly up to see them.

Gaara glanced over to Sakura who stared lamely at the television, her eyes glazing over quickly; occasionally someone would coax her from her reverie and she would answer whatever question they'd asked to bring her back to earth. Once she answered, the glaze quickly over took her again. She was stuck in her own world. Between him and Naruto, Kai lay curled up in a ball, fast asleep. Every once in a while her face contorted nervously, and then just as quickly it would smooth out again.

Naruto was asleep as well, sucking his thumb in a manner that all of them found odd but not particularly surprising. He acted like a child all the time; that he would sleep like one was almost expected. He'd been having trouble sleeping as of late. Considering that he'd been awake for the better half of two or three days, it was about time that he crashed. Apparently the little brat had even been awake when Gaara was messing around with Sakura; Gaara wasn't going to tell Sakura that, though. If he wanted to get in her pants, she'd need to feel that no one would ever know what could happen between them. Gaara had a feeling he could change that.

He wouldn't force her—that was strictly against his morals. It was a policy of his; you don't force yourself on _anyone_—especially women. He didn't allow it to happen, either. He'd break Sakura, though. He would be _sure _to do that, just not in that way. Naruto had been correct when he informed Tsunade that they did have moreals, but Gaara couldn't help but wonder if that was a weakness. Having morals, that is, but he didn't much care.

He was fined to be considered weak for being so abhorrently against rape; he'd just have to kill anyone who tried to persuade him otherwise.

Gaara absently wondered to himself of what Kankuro had told him. Kai had planned to do away with TenTen—he'd have already killed the girl if he'd been in her position—but he knew there were people more deserving of an unsavory death.

**Author's Note- I knoooow it's been a while. :( But between soccer and school I've been ubbber busy. :( My mom is making me quit soccer because of technical bullshit, but I can always do it next year. ;) ALSO! I am doing theater now! I just auditioned today. ;) Wish me luck! :D And I know this chapter is short, but I promise the humongous surprise in the next chapter will make it worth it. :D**

**Here are your choices!**

**A- The Sabaku brothers get in a fight when an inebriated Sasuke makes a pass at Kankuro.**

**B- Kiba and Kallou get it onnnn... :)**

**C- Kai and Naruto's birthdays come up. :D**

**D- None of the above. :) Come up with your own.**

**E- All of the above. You can include your own if you like. ;)**

**Lauren.**

**Note. I have decided where some of the lemons will be- Kiba and Kallou's lemon is not yet. :P So either way, it wont be next, but there may be... mouth to mouth. Bwahaha. :)**


	11. After Dark The Midnight Spark

"Shikamaru, what do you make of this?" Asked Sakura, turning her paper to Shikamaru.

"Trouble? Here- you just...." Shikamaru scribbled his work down, making notes and indications to what and where she'd gone astray with her mathematical equation.

Sakura nodded her thanks and turned back to her work. Sadly, she was only slightly over average, and didn't breeze through her work like

Gaara, Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Hidan.

Kai and Naruto were the ones who usually helped her, but they were having a wrestling match at the moment- something Sasuke clearly didn't approve of. He was the only one who would _ever _read anything to that, for her was obviously to most Naruto's lover. It was strange to talk about them being... 'together', so no one did. Mostly all of them knew there was something going on even though the two weren't actually hubbies.

Kankuro helped Naruto and Kai when they didn't understand something, and she found it strange that someone who hated children as much as Kankuro would befriend the two that acted most like what he hated. He was closest to the ones that all of them would have figured on him choking to death out of aggravation- it was crazy. But since when had this place ever been reasonable? He was clearly above average in intelligence, though the lengths of his intelligence we unknown. He wasn't open about his brains, and usually scored purposefully averagely, though Gaara, Hidan, Shikamaru, and Sasuke weren't as insecure with themselves and openly airing their brain matter.

Sakura quickly scribbled down the last of her work, and ran her eyes over the work. She'd been doing better with her studies lately- being around crazy intelligent people- no pun intended- _had _it's advantages, as disadvantaged as she sometimes felt. She shoved her math work back into her messenger bag, and sighed slowly. Naruto claimed victory just then, pinning Kai to the floor. Kai grumbled angrily, sinking down onto the couch next to Sakura.

Sakura evaded her questions, and intentions of chatter, causing Kai to roll her eyes and stomp off to her room. Naruto rose a question brow at Sakura, and she avoided his gaze by lowering her eyes. Kiba and Kallou shrugged, not worried by Sakura's sudden quietness. It was natural for _them_to go on bouts of random silence, and it seemed inconsequential for her to the same. The went back to their quiet conversation, the emotions that had been showing between them suddenly turned down, almost to the point of being off, though they were still there.

Sakura stared at the floor, the corners of her mind fizzling out with a strange buzzing that she couldn't quite turn off. She looked around slowly, her mind still scrambling to keep up with her movements. She studied each of them, trying to pick out certain ticks that showed their emotions. The Terrible Trio- as she'd mentally nicknamed them- had been discussing it the day before, and Kankuro had left the room in an angry fluster after having spent half an hour trying to explain it to Naruto. As soon as Kankuro had left the room, Naruto had pointed out Kankuro's flaws of emotion to her, and his little ticks as well. Sakura hadn't been able to believe that he'd come up with such an ingenious plan to figure his new friend out.

Her gaze fell on Kankuro as she thought about him, and she remember Naruto's words. His brows drew together when he angry, and narrowed slightly when he was worried or confused. Naruto had said that it was meant to look the opposite of how he felt- more powerful and angered then scared. Naruto had sounded like he knew what he was talking about, and Sakura was confused. It was as if he knew Kankuro inside and out, just from how he knew how his friend dealt with his emotions.

Kankuro's face was relaxed for once as he read a book- one that Sakura remembered as being in her monstrous pile of books. She bit her lip, trying to remember if she'd read it, still studying the line of his mouth. His lips parted, a heavy sigh escaping them.

"What the hell do you want?" He demanded, fixing her with a glare that was even worse than the one he'd given her in the library. Sakura shuddered, shaking her head vigorously left and right. She turned back to her bag, and pulled out her book. She read the novel with a suddenly renewed fervor, avoiding the glare that she could still feel boring into her skin. She felt someone else's eyes on her, and only moved her eyes to look. The stretch hurt her eyes, but she was honestly too afraid to turn her head completely. Gaara's glare carried a light hint of a smirk, clearly amused at her discomfort. Was this payback? How did that even equate? If this wasn't... what the hell was she in for?!

Shikamaru shrugged when she cast him an incredulous glance, and she sighed with worry. She lowered her head in defeat, knowing that she wouldn't-_ couldn't_ win.

* * *

"Why are you even here?" Questioned Gaara tonelessly, his face not turning from his painting, though his eyes sidled to the left to observe.

Kisame's face registered shock for a mere second, only to be replaced with an amused smile. "Apparently it's wrong to like the taste of my own flesh."

"...." Gaara nodded slowly, unsure of what to make of this. Temari had given him the file- he'd requested to see all the files on the people from the other wing as well, and he'd read through it a single, hasty time. He wanted to ask his brother... not for help, but rather comradery in the task he was debating performing. But he had to be sure... If he was premature and rash in this, he would never have the opportunity to fulfill this sudden urge.

Gaara didn't ask anymore questions, positive that if he did he would seem uncharacteristically interested. He would need to be patient. At least for the time being.

* * *

"Babies?! God, you're kidding right?" Gaara looked up at the top bunk, seriously questioning God's rational at letting these sorts of people live. His family was always very religious, and church had been important to them. Gaara wondered if going to church had effected his Uncle Yashamaru at all. He remembered watching TV programs and news channels when he was younger that depicted the abuse of little boys by such trusted church officials as priests and pastors. Did God exist to them anymore, or was He shoved aside just as their emotions had been when they were violated?

(**A/N: I am not a church goer myself, though I AM religious. If you're not, that's cool. :P My mom is atheist to a pretty sure extent. ALSO! Any ideas for Gaara and Kankuro's religion? If you do- tell me, and give details as to what is acceptable and not. :) THANKS!-Lauren)**

Gaara had only breezed through the file before, skimming for details that merited more attention than others. Babies had seemed rather unimportant, seeing as Kisame had openly aired his detest of child abuse. But... it said here that he found children "Much more delectable than more mature meat. They're much more tender, and easier to cook."

Gaara repressed the urge to vomit, and read on. His eyes narrowed as he learned of the strange cannibal man in the wing opposite theirs. "Known for flying to other countries, and coaxing homeless, skinny children into his home to act as a father figure. He has admitted to his plans of fattening children- and teens alike- up to his 'standards', and then strangling them to death. Photographs- taken by police, not the subject- show that the methods were varied. Some struggles were violent, and others less so. The majority were unsavory, though there was a handful of the deaths that were humane. These were though to have been his special children."

Gaara pressed a hand over his mouth, and jumped up from his bunk. Tsunade had taken these notes- he recognized the hand writing from Sakura's file- and she couldn't even show the man that she hated him. It was part of her job- she had to deal with her patients, and openly hating them would diminish any chance of restoring their mental status.

Kankuro was walking back to Kai's room, twirling a paintbrush between his fingers. He'd taken to painting with her lately, and it seemed to calm him down to some extent. Gaara grabbed his arm in a vice grip, jerking the larger male backwards with an almost awkward ease. Kankuro groaned, suddenly afraid of what Gaara wanted. There was a funny look in his eyes...

"Kisame is a cannibal." Gaara breathed, thrusting the file into Kankuro's hands. Kankuro looked down to it, frantically pushing it back to his brother as if it burned his hands.

"Where the _hell _did you get that?! Do you know what they'll do to us if they see that you have that?!" Hissed Kankuro, turning away from his brother. Kankuro brushed past Gaara, stomping back to Kai's room, the wooden brush almost splintering in his grip. Gaara grabbed his brother by the arm again, spun him back around.

"Kankuro- he eats... He eats little kids." Pressed Gaara, an uneasy tenderness in his eyes. It was something Kankuro hadn't seen in years, and it frightened him. Gaara must have been awake a really long time to let his emotions show like this. "We need- we need to fix this. Scum like that-- they don't deserve to breath!"

Kankuro nodded slowly, ambling back to Kai's room. He paused at the doorway, and then looked back to Gaara. "She _can _keep secrets, you know. But... She'd want _everyone _in here in on it."

Gaara's breath hitched with uncertainty, and then he nodded. Kankuro nodded in response, and Gaara bit his lip. "Hey, Gaara... Get some sleep okay? You're conscience showing."

Gaara's eyes widened, and then he nodded, setting his features. Kankuro always protected his brother, no matter how hard Gaara hit him or how much he threatened to kill him. If there was thing he wasn't for, it was betraying those he held close. He'd die before he _ever _that.

* * *

"So... what are we gonna do?" Asked Sakura slowly, wincing when Kai rolled her eyes with a short scoffing sound. They were all congregated in the living room the next evening, weighing their options.

"We're gonna kill 'im, like Gaara said. But it's going to have to mean something. We need to send a definite message of what we're doing, without giving ourselves away, you know?" Kai sighed heavily, massaging her temples as she closed her eyes. "But, what... how the _fuck _are we going to do it?"

"Symbolic, huh?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he thought for a moment. "Cut off his tongue. If he likes the taste of them, shouldn't that be symbolic enough? Taste is the most important thing in his... activities. So take it away."

"Oh! Me like!" Giggled Kai.

"Yeah. If that doesn't send a message, I don't know what will." Snorted Kiba, his own tongue flashing across his sharp canines.

"Weirdos..." Naruto shook his head with mock disgust, though his lips held a smile. "Fingers. Cut them off. If by some miraculous chance he _doesn't _die, we're going to ensure he never cooks _anything _ever again."

"What if we shove them down his throat?" Asked Sakura, surprising everyone with her deviousness. "That's symbolic, right?"

"I'll say..." Laughed Kai.

"Yeah!" Kiba snorted in a 'Well DUH!' tone of voice. "Eat _that _you sick _fuck_."

"_Okay_...." Sighed Kankuro, a smirk turning up the corners of his lips.

"Hey, uh... I don't see how we're exactly going to put this all together, though... I mean... How do we corner him?" Asked Kai carefully. She didn't want Gaara to get mad at her for finding fault with his not entirely thought through plan.

"I haven't slept in _days, _and you want me to come up with a fucking _plan!?" _Snapped Gaara, rubbing his hands over his pale face.

"Hang on! I've got it! A... a lure!" Exclaimed Naruto.

"But how?" Kai interrupted him impatiently, knowing that _he _wouldn't get mad at her. "We can't just _lure _him without something he _wants."_

"Hey! I just come up with ideas. I don't know what the hell he _wants._" Scowled Naruto with embarrassment.

"So we observe him." Suggested Shikamaru, smiling when the rest of them nodded in compliance. "You need to find out what he does regularly, what he carries with him, what he holds dear, and things he'd miss if they were gone."

"Okay. But no one can get caught watching him. And if you do, have an excuse ready." Warned Gaara, his voice deadly even. "Or I'll kill you myself." They all nodded soundlessly, the meaning of his words sinking in.

"You don't think we're rushing into this, do you?" Asked Kallou softly. A few of them jumped, having forgotten she was there because she was being so quiet.

"Yeah... but we're going to plan before we do anything- _right?_" Coerced Kai, her stony glare not as scary as she intended, but it served its purpose. They all nodded, and she smiled brightly. "Problem solved."

They were quiet then, the lull in conversation somewhat depressing. After a few minutes though, the ideas started flowing again. Tentatively at first, and then it exploded into a full on debate. They finally came up with a damn good plan, and rather unsavory methods of leaving their symbolism. Defiling the body was going to be the fun part for some of them, but not so much for the rest of them. But, this was a group effort, and it was going to pay off- at least they hoped. They were doing their first task that attributed to the world. The scum needed to be exposed, cleaned up, and washed down the drain.

* * *

Over the next week they gather their information, though it was inconclusive. Kisame always carried a notebook around with him to jot down recipe ideas, but was rather careless with it and left it places more often than not. Sometimes he would forget about it four hours, and that would be a problem for the gang- they couldn't use this to kill him. If they were going to kill him, they would need him to remember that he had forgotten it. _But,_if they jumped him lunch they would be suspected.

Tensions spread through the group like wild fire, and _everyone _was on edge. Naruto and Gaara verbally jousted in the middle of the night, both of them miserable with their insomnia. Naruto was in a manic swing at the moment, and sleep was evading him quite skillfully. He hadn't slept in a day or two, and though his behavior was odder than usual, and he showed no signs of slowing down no one had the heart to tell the nurses. It was a certain law between patients- at least these patients- that going to authority to report another patient was a big no-no.

Kankuro and Sasuke had gotten so sick of hearing Naruto that earlier that day they had knocked him out and cuffed him to his bed. He was in his room at the moment, tied up and gagged for the necessity of his silence. They checked on him every twenty minutes or so, to ensure that was okay, and didn't piss all over himself. Sure they felt awkward doing that to someone who was supposed to be their friend, but it was better than killing the little bastard out of aggravation, wasn't it?

Sakura and Gaara watched TV side by side, their truce currently in action. they were both focused on Kisame, and Sakura would even talk to Gaara. He didn't say anything back, but she didn't mind it too much. At least he wasn't threatening to kill her anymore; that was always a plus.

Kankuro was asleep on the couch, sprawled out to take up over half of it. Kai was curled up on the floor with her blanket and pillow, sleeping peacefully for once.

Sasuke was hiding in his room with Naruto, cleverly avoiding Shikamaru who was trying to persuade him to take some antidepressants. Sasuke wasn't getting the correct dosage, or so Shikamaru claimed, and _he _was sure that he could fix that. If he could do that, Sasuke would be more bearable; lately, Sasuke had been incredibly irritable- especially towards Naruto.

Naruto had been spending more and more time with Kai and Kankuro, leaving Sasuke to feel cheated and left out. He couldn't be sure if Naruto was a "Gay-All-The-Way" sort of gay, or an "I'm-Gay,-But-Not-Sure-What-To-Do-With-It" sort of gay.

But, Naruto was just hanging out with friends, not flirting with them as Sasuke kept suggesting and accusing. Naruto was somewhat relieved to be strapped down to one place, because this meant that Sasuke wasn't bitching at him, but rather sweet and accommodating instead.

Shikamaru observed it all, silently. He had noticed the sudden change and their rapid friendship. It would either mean great things, or would be a volatile friendship that lead to disaster for all of them. Such a sudden change in attitude could have an equal and opposite reaction- a rapid hatred of one another. He wouldn't know for a few weeks- new friendship was like new love. It was impossible to see through the haze of new connections like that, and he wouldn't fret trying to figure it out. It was too troublesome.

* * *

"What if..." Sakura sighed, shaking her head. "Never mind. It wouldn't work..."

"What?" Sighed Gaara agitatedly, running a hand over his face in a manner similar to his brother's.

"A 'sacrifice'... what if we set him up? Like... I don't know how to explain it!" Sakura pulled frustrated at her hair and sighed. " What if.... What if we let him think he had one of us caught and was going to... well, you know, feast. Then we ambush him. It would have to be at night, so he would break out, and we wouldn't be held liable.

"Hmm, you mean an undercover?" Asked Gaara, cocking his head to the side. "You do realize he'd want to cook people, _right? _They'll kill you themselves if you suggest it."

"What if he likes sushi!? And... we can get someone to do it. Kai or Kallou migh-"

"They won't. " Gaara interrupted. Ask them tomorrow."

"Fine!" Sakura shouted, her crossing her arms over her chest.

"Stop acting like a _child_." Growled Gaara, his eyes narrowing. "If you wake them up, I won't be the only livid one."

"Ooh-livid. Such big words from such a little man." Scoffed Sakura. Gaara narrowed his eyes further, and Sakura smirked, her truce with him momentarily forgotten.

"Look, little _girl," _Gaara growled, grabbing her wrist in a bone-crunching grip. "You're playing with fire, and if you're not careful it's going to _burn _you."

"Who says _I_ won't burn you?" Countered Sakura, leaning closer, her eyes determinedly set. She was going to get him, and she knew it. Or thought she knew it.

Gaara grabbed a handful of hair, and yanked her head back to expose her neck, where her pulse pounded. He pressed a hand over her throat, the pressure evident. "You scared _now?"_

_"_No." Breathed Sakura. Gaara frowned and pressed harder. "I'm-" She struggled for a breath-"Excited."

Gaara released her, shoving her away from him. "You're sick!"

"Really? It excites me that you're forceful, and you take what you want! No one has ever been the aggressor in any of my relationships! I'm tired of it!" Sakura's eyes blazed with unwarranted passion, but Gaara's were filled with complete and utter disgust. "It's a chance to have someone _want _you."

"You're talking about _rape, _not _sex! Forceful?! _That's not exciting- - it's- it's satanic!" Gaara's features were wild with rage, any previous excitement gone.

"So? Isn't killing people satanic, too? What's the di-" Gaara's hand flashed across her face, the harsh sting of it on her skin bringing tears to her eyes.

"They're _completely _different!" Roared Gaara, standing up in an instant. "You fucking crazy bitch! They're _different! Completely! _Y- but- what is _wrong with_with you?!" Gaara's voice was edging towards hysteria, and Sakura was past worrying about the others hearing- they would have to be deaf not to hear him now.

She stood up as weak, reaching out to grab his hand in an effort to calm him down.

"Don't _touch _me!" Roared Gaara, furiously smacking her hand away from tried again and Gaara backhanded her across the cheek, causing her to stumble backwards into the couch. "How- my _god!"_

Gaara stormed off to his room, disgusted and flustered to no end. He slammed the door with all his might, the steel walls shaking with the effort; the force was so strong that some of the paintings Kai had hung in the living room fell to the ground.

Kankuro peeked his head out of Kai's room, paintbrush still in hand. "What the fuck did you _do_?!" Sakura screamed at him flinging her pillow with all her might, only for him to sigh as it bounced off of him. As he strode over to Gaara's door, Sakura absently noticed the curious streak of purple paint the streaked from his eye, and then rather jaggedly off the side of his face.

"Gaara! Open up!" Kankuro pounded on the door, his knuckles cracking loudly with the force. there was a resounding clang as Gaara flung something heavy at the door, but Kankuro continued to knock. If _he _didn't deal with Gaara, then Gaara would probably end up killing someone tonight.

Kai and Sasuke had both popped into their doorways of their rooms; Sasuke appeared tired, though was now clearly wide awake. "What happened?"

"Priss pissed him off." Snapped Kankuro, and Kai frowned. '_He had to ask, didn't he?'_

"He stared it!" Protested Sakura, her face with red with the heat of her shame.

"She's fucking _psycho!" _Yelled Gaara, flinging something else to create yet another resounding clang. "Yashamaru would _love _her."

"What?!" Kankuro wheeled around to glare at her with such ferocity that even Sasuke averted his eyes. What the hell were they talking about?! "Let me in, Gaara! _Now._" Kankuro turned to Sakura again, his chest heaving. He shook his head in disgust. "It's girls like _you _that give women a bad name."

The door opened just wide enough to accommodate Kankuro's size and then slammed swiftly shut behind him.

Sakura's face was still red where Gaara's slaps had landed. Her hand passed over the tender flesh before she slowly turned and wandered back to her room in a daze.

Kai and Sasuke exchanged confused looks, and then Kai shrugged one shoulder, raising her hands in defeat. "Um, nite, Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded curtly, and Kai bit her lips as she waved awkwardly. They both went back to their rooms, leaving the living the living room empty for the first time. The TV was left on, it's lights flickering solemnly in the empty room. It was sort of eery, really. The bit of good the group was trying to do for the world was threatening to tear them apart- was it even worth it?

* * *

"Naruto, please go away!" Droned Sakura, her eye still shut tightly. Naruto rambled on about some trivial thing, but she blocked him out.

Naruto frowned when he realized she wasn't listening, and wandered out into the living room. It was _still _empty, unless you counted Kankuro. But he was asleep, and Naruto didn't dare wake him up at this hour. Sasuke had let him out to pee, and had fallen asleep before Naruto even made it to the bathroom. He'd never been tied back down, and couldn't resign himself to such a fate- no matter how relieved it made him feel. He had more important things to do.

Naruto sighed, opening the door to Kai's room. Kai was curled around her pillow, her facial features depicting a confused emotion. He jiggled her shoulder, holding back a smile when she flinched awake.

"What!?" Kai looked around in a panic, and then grabbed at her hair, clearly relieved when she found it. "Wait- what do you want, Naruto? Its..." She checked her alarm clock. "_Three_ in the morning!"

"To talk." Shrugged Naruto. "I can't sleep."

"Well _I_ can, so can you let me?" Pleaded Kai.

"Please, Kai!? I can't sleep, honest!"

"So tell Tsunade!" Suggested Kai, closing her eyes.

"No! I _love _it! I can get _so_ much done!"

"Naruto, please let me sleep!" Pleaded Kai once more, not wanting a repeat of the night before. "I stayed up all night last night. I can't do it again today."

Naruto growled, knocking over a painting. "But I'm bored! You can't just ignore me!"

Kai pulled the covers up around her, holding her voice as steady as she could. "Nono, get some sleep, okay? You _need _to sl-"

_"No!_ Don't you_ get _it!?" Hissed Naruto,his face maniacally euphoric. "I'm like a _god! I can go for _days, Kai! _Days_!"

Kai nodded slowly, unsure of what to do about him. He was clearly not himself. Naruto grabbed at her arm in an effort to pull her out of bed. Kai resisted with a fretful whine, for she was not wearing any pants- only her over sized t-shirt.

"Come on! This isn't fair! You can't _ignore _me! I _hate _that!" Naruto pulled her hair in a sharp tug, and Kai inwardly grimaced. Why was she the one getting picked on by everyone- where the hell was it coming from!? She liked it better when Sakura was the one getting ganged up on, even if the thought of that being true made her cringe.

"No- Naruto, I'm not going to! I _can't._" Begged Kai, wrenching her hand free. "Asking nicely works much better than using _completely_ unnecessary force, you know. "

Naruto dropped his eyes to his hands, and hurriedly dropped them to his sides. "Sorry..."

"Its okay, nono." Soothed Kai, though she was unsure how she'd ended up comforting him. "Just _try _to get some sleep, okay? Maybe Sasuke'll want some _love _if you know what I mean."

"Hn. I make _him wait. _He needs to learn that he can't get what he wants so easily. You and Kankuro piss him off to no end- he thinks I'm attracted to you- ha!" Kai hid her hurt at being written off as unattractive to her friend so quickly and so carelessly. She smiled instead.

"So make him _work _for it. Then, let him give you a 'present' for you birthday. If we piss him off, make him admit it."

* * *

Sasuke stepped back from the door, glowering. Naruto wanted to play games, huh? Sasuke leaned against the wall, exhaling silently. He quickly ran through the males, thinking of the one that would most likely piss Naruto off, and would give the best homophobic reaction.

Shikamaru? Hell, Sasuke didn't even know the guy's orientation. For all he knew, the guy could enjoy it- and that _wasn't _what he was going for. The guy never had porn- of _any _kind, and besides that- he never took any interest in any of the other patients.

Kiba was obviously interested in Kallou, though the depths of the romance in the relationship were still questionable. As far as Sasuke knew, the horndog just wanted in Kallou's pants.

Gaara and Kankuro... Gaara was sure to pound him to a bloody pulp, and Kankuro... would most likely do the same, but in a louder manner. He was quite obviously homophobic- shooting strange looks at Naruto when he and the girls discussed the "sexiest actors of all time".

But.. even if he _was _gay, he'd been in denial for the larger part of his life, hadn't he? Sakura- the girl was a bit on the kinky side, and they both obviously needed a fix. He could rile up Kankuro, and if that failed to alert Naruto to his needs, he would use his next plan. It was always good to have a plan B.

* * *

Kankuro stirred slightly at the feel of something on his thigh, and drowsily swatted at it as he tried to push himself back to was drifting back to his dream that for once was a good one. He could already see the open sky as he swam further out into the ocean, the cool wetness of it against his skin quite soothing. He didn't know why he liked the ocean, but it soothed him and help him to sleep more peacefully.

The tickling sensation on his thigh increased, and he frowned as he felt a palm and the five long fingers that accompanied it. He looked down into the water, jolting when he saw the thick shock of jet black hair. He kicked at the creature, holding back his disgusted shout. He snapped his head back as he back-peddled, surprised when he smacked into a soft, firm barrier. He closed his eyes to avoid the the feelings of vertigo and confusement, welcoming the detachment.

His eyes snapped open though when another hand grabbed at him, and he was greatly surprised to see Sasuke smirking up at him.

"Get off me you fucking fag!" Growled Kankuro, throwing Sasuke- or attempting to- onto the floor.

"Shut up,and stop fighting it. You know you like it." Snickered Sasuke, trying to milk the reaction for all he could. "_Secretly_ you _like _it. "

"No!" Retorted Kankuro, straightening his arms to attempt to fling Sasuke away. Sasuke pushed Kankuro's arms down, and pinned them with his knees. Kankuro was still half asleep, and rather unaware of what was even going on- for him to be pinned so easily was truly a rare occurrence.

Sasuke pushed his hands up Kankuro's wiggling, struggling body, smirking as his hostage's arms strained in discomfort. "Stop it! N-Get off!" Kankuro's eyes fogged over, and then crossed, and he seemed to real off to somewhere else in his mind. A visible shudder ripple through him, and Kankuro seemed to crack slightly. His struggling increased ten-fold, and he was close to throwing Sasuke off. Sasuke didn't give up- Kankuro wasn't being as loud as he'd anticipated.

Sasuke, taking a blind leap- rubbed Kankuro through his pants, thoroughly when Kankuro froze up. His eyes screamed panic- but just as quickly as it was there, it disappeared to be replaced by such an immense rage that Sasuke mentally kicked himself. It didn't seem like the best idea anymore.

Especially when he was catapulted into the wall- the wall across the room. Sasuke yelped a surprisingly male yelp as he struck the wall, the metal groaning. The door closest to them opened, and Naruto appeared. Kai was close behind, her blanket wrapped tightly around herself.

"What happ-" Naruto broke off as an enraged Kankuro grabbed his best friend's lover and started to smash his face into the steel wall.

"Kankuro! What the hell-?" Kai broke off unsure of whether to step in or not. Today didn't seem like the day she had planned on dying.

"I'm not fucking gay!" Growled Kankuro, punctuating each word with a harsh face-smash to the metal. His chest was heaving as Naruto grabbed his arm to stop him, but Kankuro shoved him away. "Get off me, twink."

Naruto's eyes widened as he registered the insult; Kankuro his _best-friend_ has just made of him for what he was, even though he had no control over it. Naruto punched him straight in the mouth, leaving Kankuro to be the surprised one. He stared at Naruto, his shoulders sagging as Sasuke slipped out of his grip. He opened his mouth to say something; he might've actually apologize if Sasuke hadn't tackled him. Kankuro instead let out a growl of surprise, and Naruto's eyes hardened at the missed apology.

Gaara's door swung open at the loud sound of distress, and he almost showed surprise at the scene unfolding before him. What had happened?! They were all- excluding Sasuke- getting along fine earlier.

"What the hell is going on?" He demanded casting a wicked glare to all of them. Kai wilted slightly, her already worried features darkening.

"I don't know! I thought they were asleep!"

Gaara growled when Sasuke elbowed Kankuro in the temple, and automatically stepped forward to help him brother. Naruto kicked Kankuro in the side, making an odd sound as Kankuro grabbed Naruto's leg and jerked it out from under him. He fell to the floor with a loud thump, and Kankuro grinned victoriously, despite the blood seeping from his lip. Sasuke licked the blood from his lip, his teeth tinged red from the blood pooling behind his lips. Kankuro smashed his fist into Sasuke's face one more time, and Sasuke quickly twisted his flexible body around Kankuro and enacted a choke hold.

Gaara was half way to them when Naruto picked himself up off the floor and threw himself at Gaara. Gaara was knocked to the floor in a flurry of gold that was Naruto, instantly pummeled with the wiry strength of Naruto. He easily wrenched himself free of Naruto's grip, and rolled over onto his stomach to get up. Naruto pounced, his quickly thrown together plan coming into effect. Gaara had rolled on his stomach, just as Naruto had hoped-providing for the perfect choke hold. Naruto straddled the red head's back, locking his arms around his opponent's neck.

Kai emitted a muted scream, her closed lips containing the sound. She took a step toward Kiba and Shikamaru's room, and then faltered, returning to her previous position. Sakura's head peaked out out of her doorway, and she cast an incredulous look to Kai with a confused gesture. Sakura frowned, her face disappearing from the slightly ajar doorway. Kai let out a wail of distress, and sank to the floor in defeat. Her face brightened when Sakura reappeared with Kallou.

By now the holds had been somewhat reversed- Naruto was the one being strangled now, and he looked close to unconsciousness. The other two had managed to maneuver into a hold that involved them both strangling each other simultaneously.

"What do we do?" Whined Kai, rubbing her temples. Her eyes were watery with unshed tears and panic. Kallou snorted, her amusement as Kai's useless behavior evident as she reached for the nearest boy and gave a tug. She frowned when she couldn't pull him loose, and then sighed. She tugged once more, wincing slightly as Sasuke's fist smashed against her hand. The pain washed over her in a dull manner, stinging at key points, and then it evened out into a complete dull throbbing sensation. She was silent through the whole breaking of her pinkie; in her family vocalizing discomfort meant more pain.

She marched over to Kiba and Shikamaru's room, pounding heavily on the door. Her determined expression betrayed her outright fear. If they hurt each other... Kallou pounded again, nearly smacking Shikamaru on the shoulder when the door opened quickly. Kiba stared curiously over Shikamaru's shoulder, his lips curving into a smile at the sight of her at their door.

"Um..." Kallou stepped aside, sweeping her hand wide to indicate the entirety of the situation. Kiba sighed, rubbing at his face in almost exasperated manner. Shikamaru turned to go back to bed, but Kallou grabbed his arm and pulled him into the living room. "Please? Before they hurt each other?"

"Let them fight it out- the alpha males need to assert themselves." Suggested Kiba, crossing her arms over his bare chest. Kallou seemed to zone out a little bit as she took in his rippling muscles and bare skin.

"They'll be 'asserting themselves' in _solitary _if you don't keep them from seriously damaging each other!" Snapped Kai, furiously swiping at her eyes with the backs of her hands.

"You guys... they can't keep fighting! Gaara's going to _kill_ Naruto." Sighed Sakura.

Kai had pulled her legs up under her chin at this statement, and had locked her arms around them to keep them in place. She rocked back and forth slightly, wishing she had just stayed in her room, and hadn't asked Naruto what the sound was. If she had been smart, she wouldn't have asked. And then Naruto and Kankuro might not be in such a predicament. She whispered fervently to herself, her lips working furiously.

Kallou oggled Kiba in all his half-naked glory, longing to trace over his muscles and lines with her fingers. Clearly interested in her wordless offer, Kiba winked and gave her a wolfish grin- to which she responded by reddening deeply, tugging at the hem of her shirt. _They _clearly weren't paying attention to the matter at hand.

"Come on already! Stop making googly eyes at each other, and fix this! Then you can go do whatever it is your thinking of!" Snapped Sakura pushing the men towards their friends. She sighed with relief when Gaara and Naruto were easily pulled apart.

Kankuro and Sasuke were harder to separate- Shikamaru was holding Naruto and Gaara apart. He too was shirtless- which made Sakura wonder just exactly what the two were doing. Was sleeping shirtless really necessary? At that thought, she realized that Kai wasn't wearing any pants. Was she missing something?

She reached down to help Kallou pull Kankuro off of Sasuke, frowning when he didn't let go. "Kai, he's _y__our_ friend, help us out a little bit."

Kai frowned, crawling closer to them. She'd seen how strong he was, and was a bit apprehensive to touch him. She hesitantly placed her hands at his wrists, tugging. Kallou tugged as hard as she could at Sasuke's. He grunted breathlessly as his grip started to loosen. "Kankuro, you jerk, let go." Kai groaned as Kankuro shook his head and growled. "Come on, he's not _worth it!"_

She twisted uncomfortably to stare into his black eyes, the glaze seeming to crinkle and dissolve a little, though he desperately tried to cling to it. Sasuke's fingers sought for his throat again, and crushing his windpipe. "Kallou! Hold him back! Stop oggling lover boy, and do what you have to do!"

Kallou growled angrily at Kai, snatching Sasuke hands back. She kicked Kankuro in the gut and Sakura pushed him off of Sasuke. Kankuro coughed, sputtering for his breath. Kai sat between the two, her head dropped into her hands.

"What did he do? You guys- gah! Do you _really _need to fight like this?"

"Yeah, Sasuke! What the fuck happened?" Demanded Naruto, his voice hoarse and deep with pain.

"I... I heard you and Kai talki-" Kai interrupted him with a harsh slap to the back of the head.

"You _eaves-dropped_ on us?! You jer-"

"Do you _want _me to fucking kill you?" Deadpanned Sasuke, glowering at her while she stuck out her tongue and shook her head.

"I was looking for payback, and I figured I'd get the best reaction out of him. I didn't know he..." Sasuke scratched the back of his head. "Sorry." He wiped blood from his face, and looked at it curiously. He licked off his finger, earning a sickened moan from everyone else.

"What are- what didn't you know?" Kai's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, unsure of what they were talking about.

"Nothing. He doesn't know what he's talking about." Kankuro glared at him for a second before glancing to Kai. "Go get some fucking pants on."

Kai glanced down at herself, reddening at the fact that she _still_ wasn't wearing pants, and grabbed for her blanket. Kankuro and Naruto shook their heads in exasperation, and she reddened even further. "See Naruto? _This _is why I didn't want you to pull me out of bed." Confessed Kai.

"Aha...." Naruto nodded slowly, his own cheeks red. "So, Sasuke... what did you even do?"

"I- I'll tell you later..." Sasuke avoided Naruto's nasty glared, averting his eyes to his blood-stained hands. Naruto had momentarily forgotten that Kankuro had said that rude thing to him, and Kankuro was hoping it stayed that way. Kai skulked back to her room to get her pajama bottoms, and then rejoined them a few seconds later. Gaara had returned to his room.

"Um, I'm going to bed." Murmured Sakura, leaving quietly. Kallou eyes Kiba again before following her. Kiba sighed dejectedly, and punched Sasuke in the side of the head with half-hearted resolve.

"You ass. I didn't even get lucky tonight..." Kiba sighed miserably and stomped off to his room, slamming the door as he went.

"Horndog..." Muttered Shikamaru, following him closely. "Night. Next time don't come asking me for help."

Kai stood up slowly, and wandered over to the couch and settled into the corner. "No, Naruto. I'm not going to play with you."

Naruto made a strange whimpering sound deep in his throat, and sulked back to his room. He sighed as he remembered the name that Kankuro had called him, and then mentally shrugged. Kankuro had been ready to apologize, and he probably would have had Sasuke not tackled him. He'd seen Gaara and Kankuro fight many a times, and had also seem him when he was fighting people he didn't know- but this had been competely different. Kankuro had been provoked- he had seen the threatened look in his eyes when he slammed Sasuke into the wall. He was going to find out what Sasuke did- because apparently to Kankuro was it was unforgivable.

Even if Sasuke was to be his lover, he couldn't love someone that had quite possibly cost him his best friend. That look... it was quite unlike anything he'd ever seen- and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

**Author's Note- Sigh. It's been a while, huh? Did the chapter make up for it? :) I hope so! :D Sorry to those of you who didn't want the pass at Kankuro- you were outvoted. :P**

**Here this chapter's options! :D**

**A- They figure out a plan to get Kisame.**

**B- Birthdays and Halloween ( sorry I didn't get to the birthdays, it didn't seem to mesh :P)**

**C- A little funness between Kiba and Kallou- possible Lemon. :P Or the running of the bases. :)**

**D- Sasuke has revenge sex with Sakura.**

**E- Naruto and Sasuke get a little closer- no lemon, but fluff. ;)**

**F- Your own opinion! :D**


	12. Bittersweet Convergence

**Beginning is shit, but it gets better, I promise ! :D **

"Come on, blow them out all ready, you two!" Drawled Shikamaru, sitting forward in his chair. He was tired of waiting on them to think of their damned wishes. It seemed to him that they took exceedingly long to do anything that preexisted the fun.

"Shuddup, Shikamaru." Kai scowled, closing her eyes as she shook her head. "You're such a party pooper."

"I am not..." Shikamaru sighed and wiped his hand across his face in a bored motion. "You gonna do this or not?!"

"You ready, Naruto?" Kai smiled, and pounded fists with her birthday-buddy when he nodded.

"On three." Confirmed Naruto, letting Sakura begin her monotone countdown.

"Three, ... two, ... One." They both blew as hard as they could, and Tsunade stepped in quickly to pull the candles out, and remove any thing that could be used for fire. The cake was cute, and dished out quickly, so as to not upset anyone who didn't cake, or the right kind that they wanted.

"Man, I haven't had cake in so long!" Squealed Kai, bouncing up and down on her chair as she ate the insides of the cake first, leaving the icing to sit on her plate.

"You gonna eat the icing, Kai?" Asked Kiba, smiling hopefully.

"Fuck yeah! It's the best part!" Retorted Kai, unsympathetic of his crushed expression. Sasuke rolled his eyes, forking a bite of cake into his mouth. The plastic spoon scraped against his tongue and he sighed.

Naruto elbowed Kai, indicating for her to look at Gaara. Gaara's face bore a queer expression of curiosity as he looked at the cake. He eyed the icing, gently dipping his finger into the squishy, sticky substance. Kai smiled slightly when he raised the finger to his lips. Sakura was oblivious to the way she licked her own lips in anticipation of him putting the finger in his mouth and sucking on it. When he did, she bit her lip harshly. His lips passed over the finger, his tongue trailing to get all the icing.

Kankuro also had never had icing before, though he was less tentative about trying it. He scooped up a large forkful of it, flipping the utensil over to lick it clean.

Naruto ate his cake surprisingly slowly, savoring the sweetness of his treat. Kai tried to eat slowly, though failed. She couldn't wait to see what her parents had sent her. They had unfortunately not been able to come see her, and even though she was saddened- she didn't let on- she was happy that they were at least sending her what she'd wanted. She couldn't for the life of her remember what she'd asked for, but she hoped that they'd at least gotten her something that she could use.

When Sasuke, Naruto, and Shikamaru finally finished their cake, Kallou stood up. She wandered over to where Tsunade was standing, and casually asked for her to bring the presents in. Tsunade smiled, glad to see Kallou still talking. "Yep."

The presents were passed out to the individuals that had gotten them for Naruto and Kai, so that they might be able to hand them over in person. Sakura uneasily fingered the edge of the wrapping of her presents. What if they didn't like them? She felt stupid for thinking that her gifts would make them happy; now she just wanted to take them back to her room and hide them.

"Alright, to make this easier, why don't we go straight around the circle?" Suggested Tsunade, tapping Sakura lightly on the shoulder. "Would you mind going first?"

"Nope," Sakura lied, easily slipping on her fake smile. Had she truly forgotten for those past few days? She'd been weak again, letting herself be fooled by petty compliments and foolish yearnings and urges. She handed Kai and Naruto their gifts, her chest puffed out proudly. She wasn't nervous at all, of _course _not.

Kai carefully peeled the paper away, whereas Naruto ripped it off as violently and quickly as looked possible. Sakura had gotten Kai an art set, something she knew she'd use. For Naruto, she'd gotten him more hair gel. He _always _had his hair perfectly gelled into those quirky spikes, and yet she felt like an incredible dork for buying him that.

"I _love _it, Sakura! You're the b-e-s-t!" Kai didn't exactly understand why she felt the need to spell it out, but she did it anyway. Naruto hugged Sakura, and then they moved on to the next person. Sasuke.

"I, uh, kinda wanna give you my gift later. It's special. I don't think they'd get it," Sasuke admitted, lowering his eyes. "I didn't get Kai anything. I didn't really have anything to give her."

"That's okay, Sasuke. Honestly, I didn't think you'd bother." Snorted Kai, smiling widely. Naruto nodded, his eyes twinkling with the wonderment of what Sasuke's gift would be.

"Me next! Look! You'll love what I got you guys!" Smiled Kiba, pressing his small gifts into their waiting hands.

Naruto and Kai shook the small boxes slightly, each of them smiling at the sound they made. Kai waited while Naruto ripped his open. He tore the lid off, and then pulled the dog-tags free. "Oh my god, dog-tags?! This is.. it's genius, Kiba! Hahaha, _dog-_tags?"

Kai eagerly peeled the paper back, smiling and clapping like a child when she saw her gift was the same, only hers bore her own name. "Thanks, Kiba. They're supah-coot!" Kai further emphasized her point by putting the necklace on, and tucking the tags in.

"Um, here." Sighed Shikamaru, tossing them their gifts with a long drawn out grumble.

"What is it?" Asked Kai, staring at the odd little bundle with a surprised face. Sakura eyed the package wearily, the shape strange and suspicious. Naruto shook it, and then held it to his ear.

"Just open it, you idiots." Shikamaru rolled his eyes and sat forward again, pulling his legs off the coffee table. Kai shrugged her shoulders, and quickly unpeeled the newspapers.

"Oh my gosh! Shikamaru, you're amazing!" Kai separated the purple purse-bag from the book that he'd wrapped up in the bag. "Oh, I love them! Where did... how did-..."

"I called in a few favors," Shikamaru smiled, and watched Naruto curiously rip into his.

"No way! You- oh my fucking god! I _love _it!" Naruto shouted, grabbing Shikamaru into an unorthodox wrenched himself free, and dusted himself off in a disgusted yet dignified manner. "You seriously got me this!?"

Naruto stared down at the sewing kit, smiling fondly. It seemed stereotypical, but these tools were actually what he needed. He wanted to alter their uniforms, and without the proper tools, he couldn't do that.

"It's got dye too, so you can color your stuff." Informed Shikamaru, earning another smile from Naruto.

"Alright, alright. Quit gushing everywhere." Kallou rolled her eyes, handing each of them her gifts. She lowered her eyes as they looked at them, timid of what they might think.

Opening their gifts they were both surprised to see that their gifts matched and coincided with one another. Kai squealed, lifting the pretty necklace from the box. It was of sterling silver fitted with a cobochon amethyst, purple in hue. Kai exhaled happily, turning to Naruto for his reaction to his own. Naruto lifted his own necklace from the box. It's curling, twisting pattern cradled a rainbow pendant in the center, the shape of a water droplet. Naruto high-fived her and immediately put the necklace on.

"This is my new good luck charm!:" He laughed, fingering the pendant. Kai smiled and looked at hers a moment longer before carefully folding the papers.

"They weren't easy to get, but I'm like a tampon thief- I had to pull some strings," Kallou laughed. She shrugged off their weird looks, and leaned back onto the couch. Her task was finished.

Gaara offered up his gift wordlessly, not even looking as they unwrapped the pretty paper. Both of them were silent as they stared at them, and only when Kai mumbled 'wow' did he look up. "These are great, Gaara," Breathed Naruto, trying to think of words to express his feelings of the paintings.

"Gaara, you're fucking _amazing! _Why didn't you tell us you could paint?!" Kai squealed, and Gaara's lip curled slightly with distaste. "Sorry for being so obnoxious, but _dayum!_"

Gaara rolled his eyes, pushing his satisfied smirk off his face. Sakura glanced at him, wondering idly what he would like if he really smiled.

"Alright, well, uh..." Kankuro scratched the back of his head embarrassedly. He definitely didn't want to give his gift now. How could he compare to the paintings Gaara had drawn? He'd known Gaara for ever, and nothing was better than them.

"Oh, give them here all ready, Kankuro! I want to see!" Begged Kai, squealing when he handed over the small, lumpy package. Naruto grabbed his as well, merely laughing at Kankuro's angered expression. Kankuro's face was washed over with an impassive expression as he awaited their reactions. Why was he so nervous? Giving gifts had made him happy as a kid, but now... it just made him self-conscious. What if they didn't like it?!

Kai winced as his brutal expression, and then rolled her eyes. "Aw, come on, you big baby," She peeled the paper off the gift, and then fell silent for a moment. "Kankuro... I love it! It's so cute! How did you even..." Kai lifted the small wooden figurine to her face and let out a pent up breath. "It's... you made me a little horsey? Aww..."

Kankuro let out a breath of relief, and ran his hand through his hair. Naruto, seeing Kai's gift a success, rushed to open his own. He tore the hulk of the wrapping paper off in one smooth twist, though frowned when he saw the gift itself. "What is it?"

"It's a... necklace." Grunted Kankuro, scratching at the back of his head with embarrassment. Kai smacked Naruto, who hastily assured Kankuro that the gift was 'awesome'. Tsunade nodded her approval, repressing the smile that she knew wouldn't be permitted to show. They were learning to deal with each other, which was the first step to her plan in getting them to grow accustomed to living with people and loving them as a family. Little did she know that they were all in on her scheme, and playing nice.

They were putting on quite the show, though. Pretending to love each gift, and pretending that each gift was thoughtful. In truth, they were great, thoughtful gifts, but the moments were being played up. Tsunade collected all of the gifts, and then led them back to their rooms.

"Wait! Didn't my family send anything?" Kai interrupted, raising her hand in the way that a student might. Tsunade shook her head 'no', and Kai's face fell. "Oh, well... okay."

Naruto nudged her in the side, tightening his lips as a sign for her to smile, and cheer up. Kai stuck her tongue out at him, giggling when he poked her. She'd be okay.

* * *

"What the fuck are we going to do about... Fish Boy?" Kankuro wondered aloud, looking up from his lap. They had all been sitting in stark silence, the TV in the background a loud, hazy buzzing sound. Naruto looked up for only a moment before looking down.

"I don't know..." Sakura shrugged at her own answer, and laughed that humorous little laugh. It drove Kai up the wall, that laugh, but Sakura couldn't summon up the energy to care. It seemed a bit hypocritical that Kai could get mad at her for that little sound when she made so many odd and unnecessary ones on the twenty-four hour basis. Sakura stared at her toes, wiggling the freshly manicured toes in spite of herself. She didn't want to move, it seemed to much of an effort. She was trying to show Gaara that she could be immobile, like he so often seemed to be. There were times when he'd curled up into his little ball on the couch, angrily staring at the TV. She never got a word in edgewise when he did that, it seemed his silent anger had too much to say- more than she ever could. It had more meaning and depth than she could ever try to convey to the boy.

Gaara was back to ignoring her completely, except for when he decided to make her life hell. She almost preferred his cutting remarks and snide comments to this stifling silence. At least back then he was talking to her, conversing with her as an equal. Sadly, it seemed he'd surpassed her.

Sakura racked her mind, searching for some sort of data that she could use to impress them, something to show them that she was important. She was thinking as hard as she thought possible, but she wasn't getting anywhere or anything from it.

"I want candy..." Sighed Naruto, rubbing his belly in a sad motion. "It's been... geez, I can't even remember the last time I had candy."

"Oohh, yeah!" Agreed Kiba gnashing his teeth loudly. "Bet they'll have candy at the party!"

Sakura frowned at the mention of a party, squeezing her pant-leg between her thumb and forefinger. "Party?"

"Yeah, the Halloween Party! It's great. I hate to dance, but they play music. You'd have fun. God knows you dance all over the place." The last bit of Kai's remark sounded snide, but Sakura didn't care. She repressed the smile that tugged at her lips; it felt foreign and wrong. Could it be that it felt that way for the reason behind it was just as wrong as the smile itself? Gaara's eyes narrowed the tiniest fraction at the queer expression on her face, the one that reminded him of a wounded animal overcoming its attacker.

"I've got it." Sakura whispered, clutching her hand into a fist. Still clenched around the fabric, it twisted her pant-leg into a knot-looking mess.

Kallou lifted her head, her tired eyes curious for an explanation. "Hmm?"

"I've figured out how to get him!" Sakura hissed, her eyes widening with a somewhat frightening expression. Kai leaned forward with interest, excited to see what Sakura was thinking.

"Well?!" Kai clapped her hands together in a giddy manner, falling silent when Sakura opened her mouth to speak.

"The party! It's a Halloween Party, right? Do they let us dress up? It'll be perfect! We'll be able to kidnap him in broad daylight! They'll never know what happened! If we have two outfits, we can perform our... task, and then come back out in our main costumes."

Kai laughed, flopping back onto the floor to air her giddy relief at the plan.

Kankuro, leaned forward, allowing his broad shoulders to slump as he mulled the plan over. "Hmm... It could work. But we'd have to be sure that we know what Kisame's wearing."

"Not to mention the fact that we have to be sure Kisame's wing can go. If more than two of them have any fears that would render them inable, the whole wing might not be able to go. It's a bullshit system, but it's how it works." Reminded Sasuke, a dark expression crossing his scuffed features. Naruto's eyes flicked ever casually across the marks, only Gaara catching the scrutiny and irritation.

Sakura glowed inwardly, her pride hidden to the rest of them. Gaara, as usual, noticed what others did not. Ever vigilant, he kept quiet to watch her further. He didn't want to jeapordize his research. He wasn't going to talk to her again until he was sure of her intentions, and.... her kinks.

Sakura watched silently as the consort of fellow maniacs plotted the murder of their fellow patient. It seemed kind of ironic to her that she would be plotting a murder when that was what got her here in the first place- the fact that the murder she'd committed had been a complete accident was what made it ironic. Now here she was plotting out the murder down to the most minute details. It was rather lucky for them that Shikamaru had that 'wonderful memory', or otherwise they'd need to write it all down. And disposing of evidence such as that was hard in a place like this.

Smoking, as was usually allowed in other facilities, had been forbidden at this facility for the sheer number of pyros that resided here. Naruto and Sasuke were both sympathetic to the pyromaniacs, for they too had the urge to set things afire, though not strong enough to justify them as pyros themselves. The prohibition of smoking at the facilities meant the prohibition of anything that lit fires, such as lighters and matches. Which, of course, made disposing of incriminating papers all the more a pain in the ass.

Sakura looked up at the thought of this, tuning into the conversation to see what was going on. Hn. They were discussing how they were going to make the second costume. Usually they made their costumes in the art room, alongside the teachers. This way, there were no surprised to the staff when the patients showed up for the party. A lot of the patients didn't realize it, but it was just another measure to watch and control them, not a measure to make them happy.

Happy. It seemed like forever since she was truly happy, and free of worrying of doing something wrong or getting hurt. What was she feeling now? Should she be worried that she couldn't tell what she was feeling? Sakura frowned, and then sighed, wondering if the heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach was worry. Sakura looked down, shifting so she could visibly see her stomach. It had caved in somewhat since she'd came her; how hadn't she noticed it? Absently she pressed her palm against her shirt, feeling the tautness of her abdominal wall against her skin. She should've been worried at the skinniness that was obviously wasn't healthy, but it didn't matter to her. She liked it, even. Maybe now she was better than Ino.

Ino had always been able to fit into the smallest of clothes. For twins they'd been so different- they didn't even look alike. Ino was always the thin one; the slutty one. Sakura had always had the curves that the boys lusted for, but Ino had the attitude that always set the boys off. She could get the men riled up with the mere hint of anything provocative, a talent Sakura had never seemed to posses. At the moment she felt as sexless as a limp rag; it was how she always felt when thinking of her sister in comparison to herself, or in competition for her man.

Sakura shook her head stiffly, as if to rid herself of the thoughts of the past. That was done now, gone from anything in the realm of that which could be changed. Why dwell on it? Her mother had always hated how she could hold on to one seemingly insignificant little thing, and hang on to it for dear life. Perhaps her mother had the same problem. Maybe that was why she was here, locked up in this awful place. Would she even be in this same position if her mother didn't need the space? Didn't want it?

Sakura couldn't repress the disdainful snort, though she was relieved that no one seemed to hear it. She had realized something. It wouldn't have mattered if she was hear or not, she was still the same person. Her parents hated her and she was miserable. Nothing could change the fact that she'd give anything to have been her sister that night. Why couldn't she be the one who'd died?

* * *

Kiba stared after Sakura, the angst-filled wake that wafted out behind her seeming to slap him with each step. Kallou wilted slightly, saddened to see her closest friend in such sad repair. It seemed no one around her stayed happy for too long.

Kiba watched the line of Kallou's shoulders, frowning as they sagged and she curled in on herself. She watched subconsciously as Naruto and Sasuke went to their room, Sasuke's hand smacking at Naruto's ass in an uncaringly open loving gesture. It was a contradiction if she'd ever seen one.

Gaara sighed with boredom at the imploring expression on Kiba's face. Kiba was silently begging him to leave, something Gaara knew he shouldn't do. He would be giving in to the boy, and giving in meant he'd lose power. But he couldn't lose power, not when he had trump cards like he did. So what was the harm? It wasn't like he wasn't bored out of his mind or anything. He was tired. Surely the sleep wouldn't be that bad tonight?

Kiba smiled his relief, glad that Gaara was giving him a chance to show Kallou what he wanted. Gaara slammed the door on his way into his room, and Kiba winced. He was hesitant now, but only slightly; who would want to be in debt to Gaara of all people?

Kankuro rolled his eyes and turned up the TV even though the movie that he and Kai were watching sucked. It was a romantic comedy, and he clearly wasn't interested. When in Rome...

Kiba smirked, leaning closer to Kallou who winced slightly at his touch. "You need something?"

"OH, yeah, you could say that." Kiba's smile was so strong it was audible, the tone of his voice arching slightly. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and pressed his face into the pillow.

"Kill me now. Seriously. You guys are so troublesome!" He snapped, trying to smother himself with the pillow.

"Shikamaru, if you really meant business you'd go hop the overdose wagon." Sighed Kai, grabbing the pillow back out of his grasp. "Go smoke some pot or something and mellow the fuck out."

"I can't smoke pot in here you idiot!" Hissed Shikamaru. He took her advice though, and skulked off to his room to search through his small horde of pills for something to calm his nerves. Maybe he'd have a total fizz-out night. A black-star-coma-release. That might be a nice treat, after putting himself through such hell for presents.

Kallou shivered as Kiba slipped his hand on top of her own, and she leaned back into the couch, avoiding his gaze. When he saw Kai staring at them, he made a questioning face. Kai responded with a sickened expression, mouthing the words 'get a room'.

"Oh, this one's fine, thanks." Growled Kiba, startling Kallou in the process.

"Sicko-fucking perv. We're fine, thanks, without the soft-core." Snapped Kai, flinging the pillow at him. Kiba merely laughed as the pillow missed by a long shot. "Shut up! I know I have bad aim, you faggot." Kai winced at her use of the word. She was trying to be sensitive of Naruto, and in doing so she was actually increasing her insensitivity. She never said the word faggot, but trying to be something usually forced her to act the opposite.

"Give it a rest, Kai. You'd think you've never seen people make out before." Scowled Kankuro, rolling his eyes with agitation. Kai made a loud sound of disapproval before huffing angrily and crossing her arms over her chest. Kallou, who couldn't remember when they'd ever been kissing, loudly voiced her argument. However, it went unnoticed.

"I have, too! I've seen too much of it, if you ask me." Huffed Kai, turning angrily back to the TV.

"Right, exactly. We didn't!" Pointed out Kiba, leaning closer to Kallou. Kai made a fed-up 'tsk.' sound with her tongue, raising an angry brow in spite of herself.

Kiba's hand skirted up the length of Kallou's arm, his fingers looping loosely around her upper arm. Kallou swallowed nervously, unsure of what to do next. Did she let him lead? Or does she kiss him first? Was he seriously going to kiss her!? Kiba smiled at the panic in her eyes; he could see it, smell it, even hear it in her quickened breathing. He gently pressed his lips against hers, pulling away slowly to see her reaction.

The look on her face was surprised bliss, and he couldn't have been more pleased. He hadn't made out with anyone in a while, and she made things interesting. Kiba bit his lip with indecision, unsure of whether or not he should move on. He was going to ask her for input, but she beat him to it.

"Umm, what now?" Whispered Kallou softly, a slight smile moving her own lips into an almost graceful bend. The smile looked foreign on her thin lips, though he couldn't help but smile in response.

"More, if you're up to it." He replied just as quietly. He pulled back a little further, trying to gauge her reaction.

"I think I'm up for it," Laughed Kallou, leaning back in. Kiba inwardly cheered, and crushed his lips back to hers. Kallou, taken by surprise by his sudden exuberance, bit down.

Kiba grunted slightly, his kissing motions faltering only slightly before he kept on. Kallou responded awkwardly, the taste of his blood quickly filling her mouth. She couldn't say she didn't like the taste, but she knew he could taste it too, and that fact made her feel uncomfortable. She scrunched her eyes shut as his tongue passed into her mouth, rubbing against her own. It was so foreign and different; didn't he realize that it wasn't supposed to make her uncomfortable?

Pressing her hands against his chest to push him away, he made a small sound that closely resembled a whimper and she instantly felt guilty. His sounds of distress made her more uncomfortable than any strange feeling, but she'd never let him know that. She let him deepen the kiss again, the feeling of his tongue invading her privacy growing less and less strange. Something was bugging her, but she waited until they came back up for air to voice her curious question.

"Doesn't the taste of blood bother you?" She mumbled into his ear, her hair falling into her eyes. Kiba didn't answer audibly, but simply shook his head into her neck, nuzzling closer.

Kiba inhaled the scent that he could easily recognize as her, and repressed the groan that he wanted to let out. Everything about her made him want to make some kind of noise, but he was trying to be quiet for the sake of the others in the room.

Kiba inhaled again, the urge to taste her overcoming the idea that it was strange and odd to do so. He let his tongue dip and swirl as it pleased, soaking up the taste and sent that was Kallou at its own length. Kallou made a small sound of pleasure, and Kai growled.

"You guys! Get out! You're so creepy!" Kai closed her lips to emit a short scream, jumping up to move over to sit by Kankuro. "Freaks!"

"Hey, excuse us for liking to get our freak on!" Teased Kiba, giving Kallou a chaste kiss on the forehead. "Since they've ruined my night I'm off to bed. Ciao."

Kiba disappeared to his room then, leaving a bewildered Kallou to sit alone on the floor next to the couch. "Um... Well, I think... Yeah. Night."

Kallou forced herself from the floor and slipped back to her room, closing the door silently behind her. Kankuro and Kai looked at each and Kai sighed to break the awkward silence.

"The nerve! " Kai rolled her eyes and shook her head, stretching it out to crack her neck. Kankuro rose an intrigued brow and smirked.

"I've see better."

"Well, duh. It's not like they're exactly porn material-"

"I meant your neck cracking you moron." Corrected Kankuro, laughing at the blush that crossed her cheeks.

"Ohh. Wah- hahahaha! I thought you meant- oh...." Kai covered her face with her pillow, blushing when she caught him catching her peeking. "Shut up! I know I'm a retard!"

"Whatever. Check this out." Kankuro pressed a hand over his knuckles, easily producing a loud succession of pops. Kai's eyes lit up and she laughed as he did the other hand.

"No, no, no! I totally win here." Smiled Kai, cracking her knuckles in an obscenely loud manner. Kankuro cracked his neck for the simple need of loosening up, and then in one smooth motion cracked his back from where he sat.

"How did you do that!? I have to bend over backwards to do that!" Breathed Kai, leaning closer.

"I dunno. Years of being here, you learn how to crack your back. It's just more comfortable." Shrugged Kankuro. Kai sighed, turning back to watch TV. She paused, feeling the weight of the necklace against her chest.

"Hey, thanks for the necklace. I really like it. It's perfect." Kai fished the necklace out of her shirt and studied it peacefully, staring at the intricate details that seemed perfect and minute.

"Um, no problem. " Kankuro glanced up from the movie to look over at her, trying to ignore the sheepish rush of blood at the thought of where the necklace had been. Kai's shoulder touched his as she leaned back against the couch, and she hastily shifted to move her weight off his shoulder. Kankuro looked back to the TV, shifting his own weight to a more comfortable position.

"You don't talk about your family much, Kankuro." Realized Kai, turning to look accusingly at him. "I know you've got Gaara, but other than that your a total mystery. I'm sorry for any intrusion, but I can't get it out of my head. I feel kind of like... I don't know who you are."

"What does knowing about my family have anything to do with who I am?" Questioned Kankuro, turning to glare at her.

"Nothing! I never said it did!" Protested Kai, raising her hands in surrender. "I just.... you're doing it right now! You switch back and forth, and change your mind on the drop of a hat! I can't tell what you're going to do! I can't tip-toe around your emotions like everyone else if I don't know what's going to set you off!"

"Would you keep your voice down, you little brat?" Growled Kankuro, pushing her shoulder. "And that's kind of the point, Kai. I like my privacy."

"There's privacy, as you call it, and then there's complete and utter disconnection as you do it. I mean excuse me for asking but, why do you block out the world? A smile every now and then won't kill y-"

"Yeah, but it won't make me all better and magically happy, now will it? What the hell is the point in faking something that's completely pointless to fake?" Kankuro's eyes flicked across her features, scrutinizing her every reaction and every muscle movement.

"Wouldn't it be nice to have some actual frien-"

"Oh don't even tell me that acting like you're a moron all the time is why you think you've got friends." Growled Kankuro, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"I never said th-"

"Oh, really? Then-"

"Stop interrupting me, you prick!" Kai cut in, pounding her small fists against his shoulders. Kankuro twisted to glare at her properly, mildly amused at the fact that her anger swelled at his motion. "I'm not going to sit here and try to answer your ridiculous questions if you're just going to-"

"Kai, shut up. You know you're not going anywhere. You like the conversation too much." Kankuro smiled at her frustrated gasp for air, laughing slightly when she slugged him.

"Kankuro! I gave you a compliment, and you turned it into an argument!"

"So? I gave you a necklace, and you made it into some fantastical bond of friendship and love." Kankuro spat snidely, looking her up and down with disgust.

"The only one to say anything about love was you, Kankuro." Retorted Kai, letting out a long, dejected sigh. "Besides, just because you don't think of me that way doesn't mean you have to be such an ass about saying it."

Kankuro froze, his ears perking slightly. "What? You do?"

"I never-" Kankuro silenced her before she could go any further, because he knew her better than any of them, and he knew she was lying.

"Admit it! You do!" He laughed, and leaned closer. Kai reddened angrily and tried to push him away.

"You're a fucking asshole, Kankuro. I do not." Kai glowered at him as he leaned ever closer, teasing her with his little taunts.

"You want me, you want me!" Laughed Kankuro, his tone mock and hurtful. His eyes danced as he tugged at the corner of her sleeve, and she frowned with uncertainty. What was he doing? "Don't you want me?"

When he made the motion to pull her shirt off, Kai kicked out at him and nearly through herself onto the floor. Kankuro grabbed her by the arms, effecting an attempt to hold her still.

"What are you doing!? I thought you said y-"

"But you don't even mean it! And just because I thought I might like you, that doesn't mean we're-" She sputtered, looking for the words, "We're - uh, um- getting it on or anything!"

"But that's what you do when you like somebody!" Kankuro said this as if he was explaining it to a four year old, and she could tell he was trying not to roll his eyes.

Kai's mouth fell open slightly as he explained his 'logic' for the things people did when they liked each other, and by the end of it Kai felt worse for him than she did for herself. "Kankuro, that's not what people do! Usually... usually what you're talking about comes last, and not all the time! There's.... stuff before that, and that stuff usually means more than the initial bang and clang of sex." Kankuro frowned at her explanation, closing his eyes and tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling.

"So... this sucks. Wow." Kankuro snorted and lowered his gaze to her, sighing heavily. "Now what?"

"Well, other than the fact that whoever taught you about life is a complete fucktart... The first, um, step is... well, kissing. You know?" Kai reddened at the thought of having to explain it to someone her own age, wondering what her friends back home would say. Would she ever even tell them if they came to visit?

"Alright. Well...." Kankuro sighed in preparation, and then smiled. "You still want me. Admit it." Kai rose a brow and then laughed when he waggled his eye brows to take her mind off the obvious. They were still in that awkward position, but both seemed to have forgotten. Kankuro's hands wrapped around her upper arms, his weight pinning her down. Neither of them minded though; human contact was nice after taking such a long break from it. Even if it did remind Kankuro of his Uncle, he was okay with it.

Kai sighed airily, turning her head to watch the TV. Kankuro followed her gaze, noting the curve of her mouth at the sappy ending. Typical of her to smile at something stupid like that; the silly little twit didn't even realize she was smiling. Kankuro chuckled; he would give her a reason to smile, and it wouldn't be on her terms- it would be on his own.

He waited for a minute or two, until the credits began to roll. Kai turned her head back to him to say something, and he kissed her. It wasn't when he'd planned on it, but dammit he was impulsive. Kai's shocked body froze and recoiled for a few seconds before her body relaxed. Her trained lips reacted against his naturally skilled ones, the soft sigh of contentment escaping her. Hearing the sigh he smiled and slipped his tongue past her lips. Point one for Kankuro. Point zero for Kai.

~.Lauren.~

Naruto exhaled loudly, shifting his position on the bed. He was losing his happy buzz, and sinking deeper into the sleepy haze that he used to love. Naruto pushed the haziness of sleep away, wanting to stay awake longer.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Asked Sasuke, sensing his companions discontent.

"I"m bored. And I don't want to fall asleep, it's a waste of the day." Naruto looked over to Sasuke, who sat atop the dresser folding his clothing. Sasuke paused, wondering what he could do to cheer his friend up. So he was an asshole- that didn't stop him from having his moments.

"Well... do you want your present?" Smiled Sasuke, setting the shirt aside. Naruto brightened immediately, having forgotten about the present. Sasuke hopped down from the dresser, lightly landing on his feet. Naruto smiled a lop-sided smile, and Sasuke growled in response. Naruto laughed, pushing at Sasuke's shoulders when Sasuke playfully loomed over him on the mattress. Sasuke was kneeling now, his palms flat on either side of Naruto's face, the bed propping him up.

"So, if you think you're getting se-"

"Naruto, just because I'm a guy doesn't mean all I think about is sex!" Snapped Sasuke, shaking his hair out of his eyes. He didn't like the mischievous look on Naruto's face, though he couldn't lie and say that it wasn't fetching. It made him want to smother the boy with his loving kisses. He wanted to do all sorts of rough things to the boy, but he couldn't bring himself to marr the boys smooth skin.

"Well, I'm a guy, and I think about sex all the time! You're just going to have to work to get into these pants." Smirked Naruto, lifting his head in defiance. Sasuke growled his impatience and kissed the being beneath him, smirking his own smirk when Naruto melted into the covers.

"See? Kissing can be nice, too, if you just let yourself go." Reminded Sasuke, kissing Naruto chastely on the nose before returning to his lips. Naruto rolled his eyes, raising his hands to throw Sasuke off of him. "Hey! Wha-"

"Shut up, you rotten bastard." Hushed Naruto, climbing on top of Sasuke. "This is my kiss, so pay attention."

Naruto kissed him, and boy did he kiss him. It was the kind of kiss that made Sasuke want to glomp the boy and squish him and squeeze him until he didn't have any strength left. Sasuke liked Naruto, really liked him. It was the kind of like that made him feel giddy and childish; it was also the kind of love he didn't like to mess around with. It was too personal, and didn't make any sense at all. Sasuke had long ago been taught by his brother to push people away- people who were close to you were the ones who were more likely to make you hurt.

"Naruto?" Whispered Sasuke, pushing Naruto away from him slightly.

"What's wrong, Sasuke?" Naruto asked tentatively, the worry seeping into his voice. Sasuke liked the thought of Naruto worrying about him, and he couldn't help but sigh extra heavily to milk all the reaction he could.

"Do you think we'll ever get out of here? What if one of us gets to leave and the other doesn't?" Sasuke tried not to bite his lip as he waited for Naruto's answer. Why did the thought of that question make him queasy to the core? Nothing concerning a relation had ever worried him before- he had always been one to go through relationships quickly. It had never fazed him before, because there was always the mentality that there would be bigger and better people to move on to.

"I don't know Sasuke. If I had the option to be released, and I thought it was worth it- I think I'd stay. It's not like I've got anywhere to go, you know." Sasuke smiled at Naruto's answer, lifting his arms to pull the boy into a rib-crunching hug. Naruto, caught off-guard by the sudden openness, gasped for breath in the awkward bear hug. "What's with the sudden... change?"

"I don't know," Admitted Sasuke truthfully, chuckling at his own silly inhibitions. "I guess it just seemed like a good time. I mean, it's not every day I get to do this with you. You block me out sometimes. I thought that was my job. Things are different with you, as weird as that sounds."

Sasuke avoided Naruto's gaze, smiling slightly when Naruto settled for resting his head on the raven-haired boy's chest. Sasuke hadn't been lying when he said that things with Naruto were different. He still wanted to have sex with the boy, but oddly he knew that he wouldn't have the urge to leave when it was over. It would be a lie to say that that fact didn't phase him, but he would definitely never admit it to anyone. Not even himself. In truth, the whole ordeal terrified him, but he'd never admit that- he wouldn't let himself even consider it an option. He was Sasuke Uchiha. One thing he'd learned at a young age was to never be weak.

Weakness meant pain, and Sasuke wasn't a fan of pain unless it was purely physical. Physical pain meant love; it was another lesson he'd learned in his young life. Love didn't have to make sense- he knew that as well. Maybe that was why he'd never tried to make sense of it. Maybe that was why he'd never tried to look for more than a quick roll in the hay, and the fact that he'd found something more than that told him to run. To turn away and run for all he was worth, as far away as he could.

~.Lauren.~

Sakura readjusted herself on the bench in cafeteria. They'd been made to stay inside that day, for it was too cold to go outside that day. She didn't mind it, though. Her preference for the outside world at lunch had been a passing whim. Now she didn't care- did she really even care about anything anymore?

She didn't know. What she did know was that as more and more people filed out of the cafeteria, the more and more she felt squished in. How could she be claustrophobic in such a large, wide open space? It didn't make sense. It was as if the open air was suffocating her; it was too the degree that she wanted to force herself inside one of the little trashcans just to feel the safety of the walls holding her together.

"Sakura, are you alright?" Questioned Kai, her lips pressing together in a thin line. Sakura shrugged, trying to hide the fact that she was doubting her sanity. Kai, knowing that Sakura had varying moods, left her be, turning back to her sandwich. Sakura couldn't stand Kai's happy glow- it only made her think of how utterly miserable she was. Why did Kai get to have all the happiness in the place- the girl was somewhat sickening.

Sakura sighed, pushing around her mystery meat. She hadn't been paying attention when she was in line that day, and was at the end of the line for her table. None of the other people in line cared enough to tell her that she was willingly getting the mystery meat. Sakura glanced down at it again, wishing that she'd been paying at least slight attention. She was getting lost in her own thoughts lately.

"Hey, Naruto, are you gonna eat your hamburger?" She asked suddenly, her voice arching in that slightly hopeful tint. Naruto shrugged, still bent over his sketches.

"Take it." Sakura smiled softly, and slid his plate over to her.

"Thanks, Naruto. Really." With a wide smile she bit into the hamburger, not minding in the slightest when it tried to escape her the bun. She just didn't mind.

Lunch dragged on for another five minutes until a guard walked over and told them all to stay seated. "Why?" Sakura questioned, unsure of why they were being kept.

"Today is your visiting day for the month. You've all got somebody coming in, or, at least you are all eligible to have someone come in." The guard scratched uncomfortably at his thick neck, his chins jiggling with the motions of his fingers. He nodded curtly, licking his lips before clapping his hands together. Kai jumped slightly, the sudden sound startling her.

Shikamaru, who sat beside Naruto leaned over to inspect the other boy's handiwork. Naruto was drawing cool creatures, that actually bore a resemblance to each of them. Sakura had a growing suspicion that the one he was working on was her, and she was slightly miffed to notice that he'd over accentuated her in the chest department. The guy was supposed to be gay, and yet he still embellished her.... assets. Sakura rolled her eyes and wolfed down another bite of his burger. She hadn't eaten since yesterday, and her lunch was tasting pretty good. It made her feel sick to be eating, but she couldn't last any longer. Yet.

She was going to build up her resistance. It might take a while, but she'd work on it. Being in control of her weight made her feel in control of a large part of a life, even if she was being controlled to the utmost in a place like this.

Absently she wiped at her mouth, wondering if there would be anyone there to see her today. Who'd come to see her anyway? Sai apparently.

~.Lauren.~

"What are you doing here? I mean... I thought..." Sakura ran a hand through her hair and sighed slowly. "What do you want?"

"I came here to see you, and that's how you treat me?" Frowned Sai, propping his head up on his fist. Sakura frowned, mumbling out a sorry before dropping her gaze to his hand. It sat lonely and still on the smooth surface of the lunch table. She longed to reach out and touch it, but she knew that she could never do that, and would never be able to again. He didn't love her the way he used to.

Sai's fingers curled into a fist when he caught her staring at them, but it was a reflexive motion. He flinched slightly when Sakura scowled and turned away from him, something he'd never known her to do, even when she was mad at him. "Sakura, I... I came here to apologize."

"Huh? You're apologizing?!" Sakura was nonpulsed as to why he was coming to meet with her to apologize for his actions.

Sai lowered his head, his dark bangs falling into his eyes. "I was wrong, to... you know, with Ino."

"Yeah." Agreed Sakura, shaking her head silently. Sai let out a huff of frustration, and hunched his shoulders over in a loud motion where he smacked his back against the seat. "So..."

"You're turn." Sai lifted his face to give her a meaningful look, and Sakura's mouth parted in disbelief.

"You want me to apologize!? But-"

"My th-therapist," Sai struggled to openly admit he was seeing a therapist," Said that it would be good for both of us to meet and apologize." When Sakura rose a brow, he scowled and ran a hand across his face, pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers. "Look, I'm trying okay, can you just help me out?"

"Fine. I'm sorry. But, if you hadn't been all.... you know, together with her, than none of this would've happened! It's... it's not my fault, Sai."

"How the hell is it not your fault? You're the one who fucking ran her over! " Snapped Sai, his gaze drilling into hers. Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. The words coming from his mouth seemed to blend and mesh together as he started to rant. She sighed softly, lowering her gaze to his mouth. It was easier to watch the words come out and imagine they weren't meant for her, but for someone else. The intensity in his eyes made it hard to bear. Nothing about his gaze drew the love he was supposed to have felt for her. All she could see was the hate.

~.Lauren.~

Gaara looked around the room, only slightly depressed to see that he didn't have any one to visit him. He observed those who did have visitors, his eyes picking out who was uncomfortable and who was having fun.

Naruto and Kai easily fell into the uncomfortable category, seeing as both of them had no one to visit them. They sat together with Kankuro, chatting idly in a manner that suggested forced happiness. He wondered where their family was for a moment, but after a second realized he didn't care either way. What was it to him; he couldn't change any part of their situation if he tried, so why stress over it?

He exhaled through his nose, realizing that he'd been sighing excessively for the past few weeks. He sounded like a sigh factory, as Kai had off-handedly remarked the other day. Sakura had laughed when she said that, and then she'd sort of frozen up. She did that a lot lately. Gaara frowned with the realization that she hadn't started doing that until after her odd... encounter with him. Gaara smirked slightly, glad to be responsible for her misery

Then he did something that surprised himself. He frowned. Why wasn't he getting that crazy rush of adrenaline from making her upset? Gaara fidgeted slightly, the anger welling up inside of him. It pissed him off to no end that he couldn't properly hate her like he did everyone else. Gaara looked around the room for her, searching for her face that he could shoot daggers at her with his eyes.

When he found her, he was quite alarmed to see she was with a man. He was obviously not a relative- he wouldn't been in the pictures. He was- wait. He was in the pictures! He'd been in the picture with Sakura, the one where he was in a suit, and her a dress. Gaara's stomach bottomed-out with the realization that they were still involved, even though he'd been sure that the guy had left her. If that was the case, what was he doing here? Why now?

Gaara leaned back in his chair as he read the mans lips. The name... what was the name? Gaara racked his brain for the name as he watched the man get more and more angry, Sakura wincing slightly when he slapped his hand to the table. One of the guards eyed them for a moment before suddenly lurching toward another table. Gaara lifted his eyes from the man for a second to see the guard attempting to hold a flailing young man at bay from his visitor. When his eyes flipped back, Sakura's visitor had moved chairs, and was now sitting next to her. It was at an angle where Gaara could not read lips anymore, but he could definitely see that his hand was wrapped around Sakura's upper arm in a vice-grip.

Gaara didn't understand the strange feeling of breathlessness that overtook him, but he remembered the rage that swelled up inside of him. He didn't like seeing that man touch her, especially not that way. He didn't like that other people could make her so uncomfortable- that was his job.

Before he knew what he was doing, Gaara had crossed the room. He didn't know when or how he'd gotten over there, only that he was there, standing behind the pair of them. It was then that the name came back to him- Sai.

**So, I'm sorry to say that this is it. :P I would've felt bad for having Sasuke cheat on Naruto, especially after he poured his guts out to the guy. And, it would've also been awkward for it to be Sakura that he cheated with. They just didn't interact enough. So I did the next best thing for all of you. :) BUT! I have options for you!**

**A- Gaara and Sai get into a fight ( mind you this will land Gaara in a three day solitary stint)**

**B- Gaara rescues Sakura without getting into a full blown fight ( no solitary) BUT with the condition that Sakura will pay him back for his "services". Basically he'll watch her back if she promises to stay away from other guys if she wants to have ANYTHING- even just conversation- with Gaara.**

**C- Kiba and Kallou have coinciding costumes for the party**

**D- Kai and Kankuro continue to have "more than friendly" relations, but keep their 'relationship' private.**

**E- Kai and Kankuro continue their 'relationship', and are open about it.**

**F- Naruto and Sasuke begin to openly make out, and everyone is disgusted by it.**

**G- Shikamaru gets stoned, and the things that happen when he's stoned occur.**

**H- All of the above happen, except D**

**I- All of the above, except E**

**(NOTE- if you want to pick out a costume for any of the characters that you think will work, go ahead with that too! :D )**

**Author's Note- So, Sorry it's been forever! :D I've been oober busy, co-authoring and stuff. Basically life is catching up with me, lol. :) OH! Go check out Midnight Shadows, it's a collab between me and SasuSasku-kun. :) Hope ya like it! Idk if it's a serious story, yet, but we'll see where it goes. :) So, I have auditions tonight at six-thirty. Which is.... in a little over and hour, lol. :) ANYWAY!**

**Reviews are fucking joygasmic! :D Leave me one! :) I've got virtual coookieeeesss!!!!!**

**Lauren/Mellokai.**

**P.S. I turned fifteen on the tenth! :D I actually do have the**** same b-day, lol. :) Now all I have to do is get my permit, haha. :D GOD HELP US ALL!!!!**


	13. I'll Let You In If You Let Me Out

Gaara's hand closed over the nape of Sai's neck as he felt himself pulling the man away from Sakura. He knew he was doing it, but he didn't know _why _he was doing it. He didn't care about _her, _specifically, but he knew that he didn't want _him _touching her.

He pushed at the odd feeling, trying to overtake his anger, easily pushing it beneath his level of recognition. It was an emotion that was not new, per say, though it was still foreign. He hadn't felt this way in years. The muscles beneath his hands jumped and rolled, the man trying to lurch himself into action.

His grip had been released from Sakura's arm, though Gaara did not want to stop. His grip shifted, and he now held the larger man in a choke hold, his vice of a grip deadly serious.

"You had your chance. She's _mine _now." Gaara whispered softly into Sai's ear. "Don't. _Touch. _Her."

"I wasn'-" Gaara snorted with disdain, flexing his arm to close the space for breathing even further.

"Don't lie to me!" Gaara's neck tingled with the sense of being watched, and the fact that he was in a wide open room with multiple witnesses his to rudely brash motions. His gaze darted up to look around him. He was greatly relieved to see that the guards were still sturggling with the other patient. "Don't touch her, you hear me?" Gaara squeezed a little harder to reaffirm his command.

Sai's gurgled response was followed by a form of a tap-out, and Gaara released him. He walked numbly back to his seat, completely disowning the situation altogether. It was as if he'd been sitting there the whole time, and hadn't even moved.

The others, who had been quietly watching the whole ordeal, turned to look at him. "Problems?" he asked quizzically.

Naruto and Kai snorted, the both of them bursting into laughter. Gaara stared at them like they'd both grown extra heads, not realizing that half of the visitors had seen his charade and now seemed to be cowering in their seats. They shot him fearful looks, hunching their shoulders reflexively. He was used to people knowing who he was; so used to it in fact that he didn't understand why anything would be different today.

Upon looking up from inspecting his finger nails, Gaara noticed the eyes trained upon him, and he frowned. Returning their weary looks with a fierce look of such hatred that some visibly withered, he combated their unwarranted criticism with an ironclad defense. It worked every time. Kankuro, seeing his brother bristle, stood up and crossed in front of Gaara to catch his attention without startling him. Gaara looked up slowly when his brother blocked his view, his eyes softening only fractionally before glazing back over.

The thought of his brother reminded him of his sister; he was actually a bit worried about her showing up. If she showed up, she might tell Kankuro that Gaara had requested files on his wing-mates. Kankuro had only seen Kisames and the other groups', and and had no idea that Gaara had been checking up on everyone else. The only reason Gaara was worried about her telling him was that when Kankuro found out about her job he would most likely fly off the handle. As cold as Kankuro could be, he cared deeply for his siblings. He cared in his own bassackward way, but he cared nonetheless. Gaara couldn't say the same for himself. His relationship with his brother was unavoidable, and so he dealt with it. That meant in no shape or form that he loved him or Temari, or even liked that for that matter. He just didn't do that. Love was meant for others; he didn't know how to love.

Maybe he really was a monster, liked he'd been told so many times. perhaps he was worse than a monster. He couldn't even properly feel his emotions, let alone have feelings that constituted him being human. Gaara reckoned that in some ways he was worse than a monster. He didn't know where that put him, but he was pretty sure he ranked alongside evil. The thing was, he didn't know if he cared.

* * *

Shikamaru sighed, rolling his eyes as his mother told him of the renovations they'd made to the house. His father's lips tightened sympathetically, and Shikamaru felt the urge to smile. It'd been a while since his father, or anyone, had shown him the smallest ounce of sympathy or compassion. To everyone, it seemed he was just the "Junkie" or the "Stoner".

"You know, Chouji's mother said to tell you 'hello', she even wrote you a lettter. She also told me to give you her latest book." His mother winced slightly as the small smile that Shikamaru had been displaying dropped immediately into a grimace. "Look, Shik. Even if you don't read them, I want you to write, or tell her thank you. You know what? I'll just tell her for you, to save you the hastle."

Shikamaru dropped his gaze to the table, tracing the initials with the edge of his thumb. C-R._ 'Who were _you_? Were you as miserable as I am? I wonder what _you _did to get in here...'_

"Shika, baby? How are you doing?" Hiis mother pressed hopefully. Desperately. Didn't she understand that he didn't want to talk?

"Okay." Admitted 'd _been _okay, at least. His mother smiled, thankful for some sort of interaction.

"Do you like their library? I brought you a whole box of books, if you'd like them." She smiled that tight, hopeful smile, and Shikamaru relented. He could feel the strings of their bond tugging at his heart.

"Yeah. They have the best library in state, and I'd love the books, Mom." Shikamaru tried to smile, though it felt forced and tiring. His parents beamed at him, and it felt a little harder to smile. It still didn't fit; _he _didn't fit. He was an oblong being forced into a set whole. He'd _never _fit, no matter how hard he tried or was thrust against the opening. He'd have to cut to size and morphed to shape, and he didn't have the resolve or the motive to pull that off.

Shikamaru sighed lightly, looking distractedly around the room. He passed over Gaara's antics easily, having already prepared any number of excuses for his wing-mates behavior. He had one for any of all of them, just to keep things easy for his parents.

His parents didn't ask about them, but instead focused their attentions on him. It seemed whenever he got up the urge to smile, his mother would inadvertently depress him.

As his mother preened on, talking of stupid frivolities, and his father grew more and more uncomfortable, he realized it would _neve_r change. They would forever visit him behind these walls, remind him of the things he missed and tantalizing him with what he longed for. It would forever be this way.

* * *

Sakura stared at the seat where Sai had sat, a blank expression glazing her features over into a dull mask. What had just happened?

Disgustedly, she realized she'd been drooling, and absently wiped at her mouth. Her chest was heavy with misplaced dread; more properly put it was unplaced dread. She felt miserable, but she had no idea why.

Sure, Sai had made her feel some what shitty, but she had the overwhelming urge to cry and scream. Yet, simultaneously, she had the urge to giggle. It was all so silly!

_Sai _had cheated on _her, _and _he _had lied, stole from,verbally abused, and used _her. _Why did she need to apologize?For killing his beloved Ino? The slut had been having sex with many other men, definitely not just him. Sakura knew that for a _fact. _Ino wasn't shy about sharing her sexual conquests with her sister, though she did leave out her intrusions on Sakura's own relationships.

Sakura glanced over to Gaara for a second before looking around the room. What a bunch of fucking losers they all were! Half of the people from her wing didn't even have visitors, and those who did obviously didn't even want them there! She couldn't help but laugh at the pained expression on Shikamaru's face. Angered by her laughter, Shikamaru turned to glare at her. Shaking his head in disgust, he turned away as he discretely flipped her off. Sakura laughed harder, turning to view Kiba's misfortune.

Kiba, who was being visited by his sister, did not understand his out-of-character giggling- it was near hysteric. He sent her a confused look, and she subdued her laughter to giggles.

She returned his look with a knowing sort of smirk, even though she didn't know what she was smirking about- yet.

* * *

Kiba glared at Sakura, trying to listen as his sister complained about life at home. He tried to pay attention, he really did, but no matter where he looked the smirk was there. Everyone in the room was smirking at him, talking about _him._

_Sakura openly laughed at him while the others held their laughter to silence and random giggles. Kiba edgily grabbed the sides of his seat, hunching his shoulders in an attempt to block it out and control himself._

_"Kiba, are you even listening?" Sighed Hana, letting her shoulders sag. Kiba let out a sudden huff of pent-up breath, and bit his lip._

_"I can't! Don't you __see _them!?"

_"Hu-Kiba, what's wrong?"_

_"__You don't see it?! _They're- God! Hana, they're_ laughing _at me! Look!"

_Hana looked around hastily, sighing her relief when she saw that they actually weren't. "Kiba, they're talking- _to the people they've visiting! _That's_ what they're _doing._"

Kiba rolled his eyes resentfully before dropping his head into his hands. "Why don't you believe me?"

"Kiba, you're being paranoid! You're mind is playing tricks on you. " Hana assured. Kiba groaned, burrying his head in his arms. "Good-boy, don't look."

"Don't _call _me that!" Snarled Kiba, kicking her under the table. He didn't like being reminded of the Alpha, and being called Good-Boy did just that.

* * *

Kankuro tried to calm Gaara down, but he only managed to prove to Gaara that they were scared of him. Gaara was now intensely mad at him, and had promised to kick his ass later.

Kankuro jolted slightly at the feel of a hand on his shoulder, then did a double-take when he recognized the face that greeted his gaze, apologetic for the fright delivered to him. "Tsunade? What do _you _want?"

"I don't want anything, Kankuro. I've actually come to tell you two that you've got a visitor." Informed Tsunade. "Isn't that great?"

"Fucking wonderful," Was Kankuro's sardonic reply. Tsunade just smiled, and looked to Gaara to see if he'd been paying attention. Gaara had, of course, and was now quite disturbed. It was Temari, no doubt, and Tsunade obviously wanted them to follow her. Of course they wouldn't be allowed to see anyone in public, due to their track records. They'd been shackled in one of the 'conversation rooms', and then they'd meet Temari. There was no way for Gaara to intercept her and Kankuro's meeting.

Nevertheless, he stood. What else could do? Any other actions would raise suspicion. He muted his sigh, trying to ignore the anger that was welling up already. If she got to Kankuro, his plans for the South Wing were seriously fucked.

Kankuro scratched his cheek, following Gaara's suit. What choice did he have anyway?

* * *

Kallou watched them go with only mind interest. Her only concern actually _having _a visitor. If she did, her life would probably be _leaving_ with the visitor. The only family that cared enough to find her and 'visit' her was the part of the family that wanted to cause her SBH. Seriously bodily harm.

Kiba was having trouble, something that upset her deeply. Other than thinking he was a dog, she didn't know what was wrong with him.

She watched him a moment before looking around again. The whole ordeal was pretty boring for those who had no company, but her wing had made the best of the situation.

Naruto was making room plans in some divert code that she didn't even understand. He claimed that he would decode it all when they got back to the Wing, but Kallou was doubtful. It looked extremely complicated, but he couldn't even begin to explain it while they were there. He was also scping up the cameras, as well as the exits, though Kallou didn't even see how he could tell which cameras were real and which were fake. Obviously, there were _some _fake cameras, to provide the illusion of extra tight security. It was a good Institution, but it wasn't as if money was endless. There _were _limits.

Kai had thrown herself in charge of designing the costumes for everyone, and had decided to leave the faces off her drawings. She had said she wanted to surprise them all, and that if they could figure out which costume was theirs before she finished it, that meant she'd done good. So far, she had. With only one complete- it had been spotted as Naruto (of course) right away, for the copious amounts of color and flare she added.

To this, Naruto had responded with, "Just because I'm _gay _does _not _mean I'm a fucking flamer, Kai." Kai had blushed, and began a new one. He had her there.

Kallou sighed, trying to mentally block her distractions. She couldn't focus today. She wondered absently if they'd switched her medications. Kallou resolved to check in the use worrying about it now; why get worked up over a possible nothing? The whole thing seemed pointless, but who was she to argue?

* * *

Sasuke's eyes were tired, and he wanted nothing more than to sleep. Of course, it was just his luck that he was too interested in what Naruto was doing. Or, more accurately, watching him do it.

Sasuke didn't like a lot of things about Naruto, like the way he was loud and brash, and how sometimes he would burst into song for no reason. Or even the fact that he'd rather draw instead of read, or play video games instead of watch movies. Then again, there was lot of stuff he _didn't _mind.

Like the way Naruto licked his lips when he was thinking, or even the way that he folded his clothing neatly and put everything away. Sure he did it in spurts, but Sasuke didn't mind the spontaneity either. It was like a surprise for both of them. There were things he didn't mind, and then there were things he _loved._

He loved the way Naruto would rather kiss instead of talk, and the way Naruto surprised him all the time with his random acts of kissing, not to mention the random placement. Sasuke of course never voiced these thoughts, but instead showed the negatives. He picked at Naruto for being such a goof, and laughed at him when he tripped over his own feet, the fucking klutzy spaz.

Naruto felt his gaze, and looked up. He made a silly face and Sasuke rolled his eyes despite the fact that it was adorable. "You're such a dork."

"But that's my most redeeming quality." Pointed out Naruto, not bothering to look at him again. Sasuke frowned, wishing Naruto _would _look at him. Of course Naruto didn't. Sasuke sighed, and bowed his head. This relationship would be the death of him.

* * *

Kai watched the simple interactions between the two males, a small frown forming on her lips. It was odd how openly quiet they were with each other, even though they were both obviously, in some form, together. She rolled her eyes at herself for even toying with the idea of her and Kankuro being "together". It was a feat in itself that would be impossible; she was definitely not somebody that he would fall in love with. Even if she did like him, he wasn't one for her self-destructive ways or annoying habits. It was illogical to think that a 'real' relationship would come out of it.

Kai wasn't sure what would happen with the last night's... activities meant. If they ended up continuing their late night sessions, or whatever they were, she was game on one condition. If they were helpful to her, and made things easier, she'd continue it. If it made things harder..... she'd end it. She wouldn't condone something that complicated her life for the worse.

She leaned onto her hand, watching Naruto and Sasuke's reaction. Her feelings toward the blonde were of the love category, but she saw him more as a sibling than anything else. There were moments when she was scared she liked the boy, but those were flickers. False flickers. She sighed another time before rising out of her seat. "I'm bored. I'll show you my drawings later, kay, Nato?"

"Wait! Where're you going?" Inquired Sasuke, unsure of what to do with Naruto alone in public.

"Library. They can't keep us locked up _all _the time," Kai laughed lightly, a bit discouraged by her inability to be real with them. At least she was good at layering her lies. She _wasn't _happy, and she _wasn't_ going to the library, but for all they knew she was; it wasn't like she could tell them otherwise.

"You're just gonna walk strai-" Started Naruto, looking up uneasily.

"Shut up! Just shout it to the whole staff, why don't you? And yeah. I am." Kai smiled devilishly before turning on heel. "You. Fucking_. Bet."_

* * *

Naruto ignored the buzzing feeling that coursed violently through him. He needed to go, needed to _move. _Try to hide this, he licked the back of his teeth in erratic strokes. HIs leg jiggled as his hand rapidly stroked the variables and symbols that he knew by heart.

It had been the secrets code of the "Children's Home" where he'd 'grown up'. It was actually just an orphanage with a fancier name to lessen the sad fact of what it really was. He remembered vaguely of passing notes at midnight, and then getting caught when the nightlies came around. He'd been sent to the headmaster who, when angered by his inability to understand and decipher the code became apparent, sentenced Naruto to three days room restriction. Naruto didn't leave the room the whole while, save for the bathroom. And even that wasn't beyond the walls of the room. Naruto had been so out of his mind with the need to move that first punishment that he had paced the length of the room in the corridor between the rows of beds. The headmaster hadn't believed him, nor the other children who swore to his constant roaming.

Sometimes when he was confined to his room, there would be other children. Then it wasn't so bad. Those times weren't as bad with the boredom, but then there were times when he was so miserable he couldn't even get out of bed. He'd lie there for the few days that he was made to, only going to the bathroom when he was on the brink of having an accident. He'd wallowed in his self-misery then, wishing himself to be dead. Of course, death never came easily in a place like that.

He could easily find the codes and patterns in how people did things, yet he never seemed to see the patterns in his own life. To him, every had ups and downs. He could catch patterns in the way someone chewed their food, and yet he didn't seem to catch the pattern in his own actions. Did he miss his own patterns? How could he?

It was simple. He _did_ notice it, and it _did _tickle at his conscience, telling him to fix it. He knew it wasn't normal but he couldn't change himself. So he'd told himself one thing: _there was no problem. _It didn't bother him enough for him to recognize it.

* * *

Gaara and Kankuro resigned themselves to the shackles and binds that held them in their chairs, bowing their heads in silence as they waited for their visitor to enter. It was going to be a long awkward meeting, Gaara knew that much. He didn't want to see Temari at this point, he was getting angry at her, and wanted to smash her head in. Why, of all days, did she have to come before he had a chance to warn her not to... not to... well, not to do this!

Kankuro sighed, intently studying the cushion on the arm of his chair. It looked comfy enough. The fact that his arm was chained to it sort of ruined the effect though, and made him want to rest his arms on the table. Being chained up like this made him uncomfortable. Kankuro cast his brother a sideways glance, trying to ignore the way Gaara's eyes flicked almost rudely up to greet him. His brother's glare was unexpected and unwarranted, and Kankuro didn't appreciate it.

He lowered his gaze wordlessly to his lap again. When the door opened, he did not look up; it was something that he'd learned over the years. When they wanted his attention they'd ask for it. Today he was not in the mood for the frivolous bullshit. He had things on his mind, and he didn't want to have to fight with the lawyers.

"Hello, boys. Did you miss me?" Kankuro's head snapped up in a smooth motion to see if the voice really matched the face.

"What are _you _doing here?" He didn't mean to sound ungrateful, but he was taken by great surprise to see her here.

"Is that _any _way to greet your sister? I haven't seen you in nearly a year, Kankuro!" Temari smiled slightly when he lowered his gaze again, mumbling out a low apology. "It's okay, I just missed you is all. But I'm gonna be able to visit ya more often, you know."

"How, you live all the wa-"

"No, I don't! Not anymore, anyway. I've moved out here, and I even got a job out here, so I could be closer to you guys and keep an eye on you. I missed you both so much." Temari smiled softly at the both of them, trying to ignore Gaara's scowl of warning.

"Well, that's good, I guess." Admitted Kankuro, not lifting his head. "So, why did you leave, though? I mean... it's not like your job didn't pay well."

"Oh, this new job pays better. Apparently not many people are game to be the night secretary at a pysch hospital. And besides,the pay is actually better." Kankuro didn't answer, and Temari frowned. "Kankuro?"

"Where did you say your were working?" Kankuro listened silently as she talked, explaining that she worked as the night secretary now, and Gaara grimaced. He could feel the anger radiating off his brother before Temari even noticed that he was angry and not confused.

"Kankuro, are you okay, you seem a bit quiet." Fussed Temari, reaching out to touch him from across the table. Kankuro flinched away, lifting his head to glare at her.

"Don't touch me. Don't even talk to me. Apparently my opinions aren't important. You couldn't even ask? This place is dangerous, Ri." Kankuro's voice had taken on that course edge that it had when he was emotional, and Temari frowned.

"Kankuro, I'll be fine! Didn't Gaara tell you I worked here? He's known ab-"

"Of course he didn't fucking tell me! Are you the one who got him the- the- you _know _what I'm talking about!" Temari's eyes widened at the thought that Kankuro had known about the files and not where they'd come from.

"Gaara, why didn't you tell him?" Demanded Temari, shooting him an angry, questioning look. Gaara sighed heavily and lifted his head to look her in the eyes.

"I didn't feel like it. There was no point in it, so why bother?" He smirked as his brother struggled against his restraints, obviously in an attempt to break free. Of course he wouldn't be able to. Of course he felt enraged that he'd been wandering around with the wool pulled over his eyes. That sure as hell didn't make Gaara care any more about the situation. It was actually easier to deal with than he'd thought it would be. Now all he had to do was get his brother back on his side, and they'd been in pretty damn good shape.

Gaara laughed aloud at the expression on Kankuro's face, and Temari frowned. "Maybe it would be best if I left..." She admitted, and Gaara laughed harder. She had no idea just how devious he actually was, and how useful her information had been to him. And she was going to keep helping him, whether she intended to or not.

* * *

Shikamaru made a tutting sound with his tongue and the back of his teeth, raising his eyes to look at his parents. They didn't understand it at all, did they? Sometimes they were just so fucking _annoying._ Asking all these questions he didn't want to- hell, _refused_ to answer. They kept asking, kept picking at him with their questions.

"Shikamaru, when do you think they'll let you out of here?" His mother asked nonchalantly, knowing perfectly well that it wouldn't be for a long time. She was only trying to make conversation, but Shikamaru wasn't having it.

"Fuck you." He jerked himself away from the table, giving them both dirty looks before stalking off to the exit of the cafeteria. He ignored their call for him to wait, and to come back. He was done with their sick questioning, and annoying gestures of love that was meant to mean something but meant nothing.

There was only one thing on his mind, and it was the thought of getting all of this _off _of his mind. Which meant he'd at least get to have a little fun, and that was no problem to him. Three days was worth the forgetting of this moment.

As he left the room, he could feel his wing-mates' eyes on him, though he did not care. Who were _they _to judge him? Just because he wasn't open with them about what he'd done didn't mean he wasn't here for a reason. Maybe he'd just show them what he was like when he was uninhibited. Then maybe they'd understand... he was a force to be reckoned with, whether they liked it or not. Whether they even knew it or not, he was going to have a little fun.

If he made their lives a living hell that night.... well then that was a plus for him, wasn't it? Shikamaru smiled to himself as he marched back to their wing, already working out his plans for the night. This would be a riot.

* * *

Kai leaned against the cold railing, her eyes closed as she leaned into the wind. It gusted heavily outside, the winds whipping her hair around. The ends of it whipped her cheeks, stinging slightly at times. She'd just needed to get away from all the chaos, and the feeling of being trapped inside.

After a mere second's debate, she skipped over the rail and wandered across the lawn to where the trees were, easily slipping off her flip-flops. The ground was cold and squishy, but she didn't mind. It seemed to wake her up a bit, and it made her feel young again. When she reached the middle of the tree's height, she turned and sat down. The tree branch was cold beneath her bottom, but that didn't dissuade her actions. She liked to watched the people inside the seemingly massive building as they lived out their daily lives.

What little of the daily pleasures that they were alloted for, anyway. Sometimes it seemed to her that all of them were forced to live inside of the building enacting some sort of half-life in place of the life that they'd been promised at birth.

As she watched the people through the window, her stomach seemed to fall out from beneath her. She didn't know why, but it just did. Shifting her position, she slid in an unorthodox manner out of the tree. Landing uneasily on her feet, she swayed before moving to the door again. It didn't open as she'd expected it to, and then she scowled. Of course it was locked! The doors always locked from this direction when they were shut; it was why they were always propped open slightly for lunch.

Kai knocked on the door, hoping that someone would hear her. When no one did, she frowned, trying to hold back the tears of distress. What the hell was she supposed to do now?

* * *

They were all back in their wing now, all of them except Kai of course. Shikamaru had walled himself up in his room, and not even Kiba could get in there.

Naruto and Sasuke were nestled on the couch together, calmly watching their movie. Sasuke's arms wrapped around Naruto, they looked quite the pair. Every so often they'd start making out afresh, and there would be loud groans and sounds of disgust. Eventually Sasuke and Naruto drifted back to their room, where laughter and severe make-out sounds could be heard. No one dared venture near the door, not even to ask for quiet. No one wanted to hear that.

Gaara and Kankuro, side by side as almost always, watched the television in relieved silence. Sakura was reading in her room, trying to ignore the giggles of Kallou and the lazy jokes of Kiba from the bunk above her. Gaara and Kankuro, alone for the first time in what seemed like weeks, didn't say a word to one another.

Kankuro was still livid with Gaara, though he couldn't bring himself to make the change of sitting by himself. He'd always had his brother at his side, and he couldn't bear to leave him.

Gaara sat next to his brother for the mere sake of convenience. It was easier this way, and dissuaded the others from thinking they could sit next to him just because there was a free space on the couch. He didn't mind the way his brother sat next to him, obviously uncomfortable. It seemed a little funny to him, and he was even enjoying it. Kankuro was squirming under the pressure of his thumb, just as he expected; hell, just as he'd expected.

Despite the fact that when exposed the same things, Gaara was more deeply affected by it, he was better at hiding it. His brother had gotten the short end of the stick in that matter, but Gaara had been more affected by it, at least that he knew of. Gaara cast a sidelong look at his brother, his breath swelling when his brother avoided his gaze to look at the TV. Kankuro was still ticked off, and that meant that Gaara would have more freedom to do what he wanted, especially if he kept up this silent treatment.

Kankuro sat in silence for another few minutes before opening his mouth to speak. Gaara heard the soft sound of his brother lip's parting, and turned ever so slightly. Kankuro didn't look up, but instead looked at his knees. "Do you still have them?"

Gaara froze, his eyes narrowing and his lips parting in mild surprise. "H- _why?_ Why would you even want them? They're of no use to you." Gaara set his jaw defiantly, not intending in the least to let his brother look at the files.

"Why wouldn't they be? What the hell are you keeping them for if they're not important?" Kankuro rose a brow, thinking he'd won. Gaara's mind reeled as he grabbed for a quick answer, a quick that lie that he knew would work.

"Sentimental value." Gaara winced before the words were even completely out of his mouth. Sentimental value? What the hell was he thinking!? He didn't care about things like that, and Kankuro knew it. He was the almighty Gaara, to mighty to keep such farcical momentous of 'happy' times.

Kankuro snorted his disdainful laugh, and Gaara felt his muscles tense in preparation. If Kankuro wanted a fight, a fight he would get. Gaara could only hope that Kankuro didn't take his new found freedom from his brother too lightly. His brother was doing things that didn't sit well with Gaara, and he hadn't even thought to ask. Gaara would probably be giving it his all today. He remembered the hesitation in his brother's eyes the last time they'd gotten into a fight, but this time he saw none.

Had he made an error? Were his hours of meticulous planning while he lay awake at night for nothing?

* * *

Wasn't anyone going to come outside and get her? Didn't anyone notice that she wasn't there?! Kai rolled her eyes at her foolish thinking and stood up.

She walked around for a bit, her arms wrapped around herself to keep her from getting too cold. Sometimes she close her eyes and imagine somewhere warm,but that only reminded her of how damned cold she was. So she'd think of somewhere even colder and try to tell herself that compared to that, she was really warm. It worked. For a little while.

Kai sighed, wandering around the border of the building. If they weren't going to _let _her in, she'd find a way in herself.

* * *

Shikamaru hummed softly to himself as he ground up the Vikodin, the now powerdery substance light and airy on his fingers. Absently he licked a finger, relishing the unsavory taste. It didn't send him flying, but that wasn't what Vikodin did. Not that he minded. He would by flying high later.

He pushed the Vikodin into the halves of a gel capsule, and then carefully wedged them back together. Perfect. He now had the first part of his plan ready. He was on a mission, and he would carry it out effectively.

The plan was simple, though the reasons behind it were confusing and warped. He might not have been completely high, but he was already buzzing. Even at a buzz he was dangerous- his pills were actually not used for getting high as much as one would've thought.

He was self-medicating. He didn't drink, for his liver needed all the help it could get to support his habit. His self-medication wasn't as very orthodox, but that was to be expected. Most self-medication methods were unorthodox, but if it worked, Shikamaru was for it.

He'd tried marijuana once or twice, but it hadn't really done anything except make him even more paranoid. Shikamaru sighed slightly, his eyes drooping defeatedly as he glanced around. Maybe he needed- no. He wasn't going to break that out. He was saving it for something special, and he'd already planned what he would use it for.

He was going to use it when they were _all _ready. It would be on that night, the night that they killed Kisame. It would be a good night, and Kisame would die a very painful death. He could be certain of that. When he was high, he was like a killing machine. The thought of killing wasn't as unappealing as he would've thought, considering the history he had with it.

He glanced at the box of books in the corner, and peeled the long strip of tape off the top before pulling the flaps open. The very top book was the one his friend's mother had written. Go figure, mom. Shikamaru sighed, and closed the box. Not today.

Sitting down on his bed, he dropped his gaze to the pills on the nightstand. It was no wonder that Kiba hadn't found them; the room was such a mess that it would be impossible to find anything smaller than the size of a golf ball. Shikamaru bit his lip in anger, smiling slightly when his incisors poke through the skin. He didn't want the blood, he wanted the pain. It was pain that he deserved, and it was pain that he needed. The physical pain made real the emotional pains that he was feeling; most of all, if made him actually feel the guilt that coursed through him on a twenty-four-seven basis. When the physical pain dissapated, sometimes it took the emotional pain with it.

It would work for a while, but only for so long. Eventually the guilt came back, sometimes stronger than it had been before. Sometimes he was thought he was safe from it, but in the end it turned out he could never out run it. He could outrun himself for a little while, but in the end, everything caught up with him. Just like it always did, and just as he always knew it would.

* * *

Sakura groaned angrily, kicking her feet up at a sharp angle to kick the bunk above her. "You assholes, if you're gonna be-- _doing that_ then get the fuck out of here! I don't want-"

"Don't get your undies in a twist," Grunted Kiba, rolling his eyes. He hopped down from the top-bunk, pulling Kallou along with him. Sakura stuck her tounge out at him, making a small tutting sound in the back of her throat. She was sickened by their ODA. Open displays of affection were depressing, especially when someone like her couldn't.

She was immediately reminded of Gaara and Sai, and wondered what the hell she was going to do about it. It wasn't as if she could just ignore it- both of them meant a great deal to her, whether she wanted to admit or not. Sure, Gaara didn't make her feel gushy and happy, but she _lived _with him, and that was the kind of thing that she couldn't avoid. Sai... Well, they had a _lot _of history.

Thinking about the whole dabacle actually made her head hurt. She tried to think of something else, but the thoughts didn't want to leave her. Shaking her head, she sighed and sat up. She rubbed her temples, making an attempt at lessening the throbbing headache that she knew was approaching.

What the hell was she _supposed_ to do? Just forget them? That was impossible, especially for someone as analitical as her. She could break down regular problems and solve them quite easily, but things like these confused her to no end. It was like her brain shut off and she was left with the problem solving skills of a two year old.

She grunted as she kicked the bunk above her, before rubbing her cheeks with her hands. As for what she was going to do, she was at a total loss. This whole ordeal was seeming more and more pointless. Sighing once more, she resolved to completely forget that it had ever happened. What good had remembering anything like this _ever _done for her?

* * *

Kai had been back for an hour or so. One of the janitors had found her snoozing on a bench right outside the front doors. Apparently she'd fallen asleep when she sat down for a moment. Leave it to her to forget what she was supposed to be doing. She'd thanked Kankuro for the necklace, she'd not taken off since the day before. Then what did she do? She sat far away from him on the couch, unsure of what to do now.

After so long she edged closer, bit by bit, until she was close enough to touch him. His head still ached, and he was in no mood to fight her right now.

Kai rested her head against Kankuro's shoulder, listening to the strange sound of his heartbeat. It was loud against the walls of his chest, but she didn't mind- she liked it. It lulled her to sleep, and comforted her heart.

Kankuro brushed the hair from her face and she smiled up at him, her eyes closing when he dropped his hand to run it down the length of her arm. She shivered into the warmth of his touch, and crawled closer to him, resting her head once again upon his shoulder. She thought better of it, and rested her head on his chest.

"You _suck _at boundaries, Kai..." Growled Kankuro, playfully squeezing her arms. Kai scowled into his chest, her warm breath moist on his chest. Kankuro loosened his grip, and dropped his hands.

"So do you." Snapped Kai, wrenching his hand away from her ass. Kankuro laughed into her hair, inhaling her shampoo with a deep breath. Kai shivered again as he lazily trailed his left hand up her back. She let out a squeal of surprise when suddenly Kankuro yanked her on top of him, his larger body a giant pillow.

"Yes, I do. I'm a _jealous _person, Kai." Kankuro's eyes bored almost angrily into hers, and Kai sheepishly looked down. Kankuro's fingers curled under her chin, and forced her to look up again.

"What do you want me to say?" Asked Kai meekly, raising her eye brows. Kankuro shrugged- as best as someone in his position can.

"Anything. " Kankuro shrugged again, and Kai rolled her eyes. She tried to pull away and roll off of him, but Kankuro's hands encircled her arms, and he held her still.

"Kankuro- you ass! Let me go!" Hissed Kai. "What if they see-"

"Maybe I _want _them to see." Taunted Kankuro, smiling wickedly. Kai's breathing quickened, and she struggled to break free. "You don't want them to think we're-?"

"Kankuro- let me go." Snapped Kai, glaring fiercely at him. She struggled further, gasping breathlessly when Kankuro squeezed her arms in anger. "Ah-h!"

"_Answer _my question, Kai." Growled Kankuro, rolling over to pin her. Kai pounded her fists into his chest, and then just as suddenly relented and dropped her head back down.

"How can I answer if I don't even know what this _is._" She whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. Kankuro leaned closer, and looked her in the eyes.

His breath was warm and cool at the same time, something she found remarkable. "What don't you understand?"

"Any of it! I don't what _we _mean, or what _this _means." Kai tried to keep the whine out of her voice, but it was seeping through. Kankuro smirked, leaning closer. His lips were brushing playfully against hers, but even as she tried to ask him what he was doing, he shook his head. "Kankuro! What-"

"Shut _up." _He grumbled, grabbing her arms when she tried to push him away. He pulled them above her head, pressing them into the couch. Kai growled with irritation, though her growl turned to a surprised yelp in a matter of a millisecond. Kankuro crushed his lips to hers, leaving Kai in surprised shock. His tongue was inside her mouth before she offered permission, and before he even asked for it. Kai repressed a moan when his weight settled upon her, freeing him up to use his hands. Kankuro smiled into his victorious kiss, hid lips curving as he licked her lips. Kai strained to kiss him back, but he pulled away. Kai's head flopped back down dejectedly, and he laughed. He pressed his face into the crook of her neck, and nuzzled, his stubble tickling her.

He sucked painfully hard with need at her neck, and Kai repressed a moan when his hands encircled her. His teeth grazed the skin, and she shuddered, shying away from them. Kankuro whined, opening his mouth to nibble again, and Kai pressed her hands feebly against his strong shoulders. "Don't. That hurts..."

Kankuro pushed her hands away, and lowered his head again. He moved to the other shoulder, though, his teeth were only slightly gentler this time. Kankuro kissed along her collar bone, his hands gripping her hips. Kai squirmed, trying to break free of him. She wanted to kiss him, but he wasn't letting her. "Kankuro- would you-"

Kankuro silenced her with the kiss he knew she wanted, and he let her kiss him back this time. Her lips were warm and smooth against his own split lip, and he savored the sweet, tangy taste of her. Kai lips were naturally skilled in the art of coaxing pleasure from his, a talent that he'd never even known. All of his previous sexual encounters hadn't been exactly emotional, and there'd been next to no kissing. Kai pulled him closer, nibbling lightly on his lip before slipping her tongue into his mouth. She cringed when she felt the cut in his lip, hoping that she hadn't hurt him. Her tongue explored his mouth, roaming and tasting every corner of his mouth. Neither could get enough.

"I take it this means you like me?" Smiled Kai, her lips curving against his. She traced the small cuts and scrapes on his temple, cheek, and brow bone. She gently thumbed the split in his lip, frowning when he move his head free of her touch.

By means of an answer Kankuro kissed her vigorously, his hands wrapping around her arms. "What do you think?"

"Hmm, I don't know. I think you need to... _explain._" Teased Kai, raising a suggestive brow. Kankuro laughed, nipping at her ear. Kai's breath caught when he licked her skin unexpectedly, the skin along her collar bone tingling with the feel of it. "Ah- um..."

"Shh." Hushed Kankuro, clamping a hand over her mouth. Kai wiggled impatiently, her arm muscles straining against his grip. "What?"

"I don't want to be stuck here why you have all the fun, you dork!" Kai snapped, frowning when he laughed at her consternated expression. "This isn't fa-"

"I don't play fair, I play for keeps." Whispered Kankuro, his lips brushing deliciously against the skin below her ears. Kai trembled and he pulled away to see that her eyes were closed. He kissed her again, and they opened. He smiled slightly at the fact that they were crossed when she first opened them, deepening the kiss when they rightened out again. Kai closed her eyes again, though Kankuro kept his open. He liked to watch her expression when he did different things.

Kankuro's hands made their way to her chest, and Kai froze when he used them. Kankuro smirked into her lips, voraciously kissing her and egging her on. Kai kissed back, though she was hesitant. Her arms slipped underneath his shirt, her fingers drifting across his back in meaningless rhythms.

Kankuro groaned when she massaged small circles into his back, and he dropped his head onto her shoulder. Kai was sad that he was giving in, but she didn't mind too much. As long as he payed her back for the back rub, she was good. His breath was jagged and uneven into her shoulder, the heaves of his chest worrying her slightly.

"Are you alright?" She whispered into his ear, sighing with relief when he nodded a 'yes' into her shoulder. "I've told you time and time again I have _'magical'_ fingers, Kank-u-ro!"

Kankuro grunted noncommittally into her shoulder, pressing his chin down into it. Kai flinched slightly, but continued to rub circles into his upper back. The position was an awkward one to be rubbing his back, but it didn't bother her. She was quite comfortable, despite being somewhat squished. "Kankuro?"

"Huh?" Kankruo looked up slowly, his eyes only half open.

"Do you think that-" Kai broke off when the door burst open, and Kankuro swiftly rolled them over. This looked less provocative, at least to some degree. Kiba eyed them for a moment before shaking his head.

"See? _They _know what I'm talking about. I don't see why Sakura is making such big deal out of it!" Kiba turned to Kallou, who merely smiled with a shrug. "How 'bout we ... _discuss_ this somewhere more private?" He smiled and so did Kallou. Then off they went. To do whatever the hell it is that they do. Because that's what keeps the world spinning. People doing what they do, and doing whatever that is whenever they want.

**So, this is a bit of a weird chapter, yeah. :P Sorry. :) But I hope ya liked it! :D I sort of didn't know how to end it, and this just came to me. :) I'm evil, I know. Anyway, so, shall we have some more friction between Gaara and Sakura? Huh? Huh? I think I hear the takers. :)**

**A- When Gaara talks to her he will confess that she makes him feel odd, and that he doesn't exactly know what it means, but he wants to find out. There is an "Accidental" kiss, but both parties agree with it.**

**B- He continues his ass-holity, and corners her and demands that she do as he says. He then proceeds to steal their first kiss.**

**C-Naruto and Sasuke run into some problems concerning the 'sex' aspect of their relationship. Naruto wants some, believe it or not, and Sasuke's the one that's not sure. After all, he doesn't know how to stick around after having sex with somebody. It's not what he does, and he's scared to lose Naruto.**

**D-Kai and Kankuro.... fuck, do I even need to ask? Progression. :P Kankuro surprises her by protecting her from a 'creepy janitor'. :D ROFL.**

**E-Kiba and Kallou get friskayyy! :D**

**F- Shikamaru goes on a rampage and tries to kill.... you pick who he tries to kill as well. :)**

**Mellokai/Lauren.**

**Leave some reviews bitches! :D I'll send virtual Halloween candy if you remind mehhh!!!! :D I got a SHITLOAD this year. :) YAY FOR TRICK OR TREATING! :D I'll prolly be t-or-t-ing until i'm like.... eighteen, haha .**


	14. Don't Get Me Started

Gaara covered his eyes, wanting not to see, not to hear. "No! Please, don't!"

He whimpered as the hands that grasped his shoulders slid down to his waist, and the eyes that bored into his narrowed. Gaara closed his eyes, twisting his face away. His hands were jerked from the position where they covered his eyes, and pinned to his side. "What's a-matter, Gaara, baby? Don'cha wanna play?"

"No! No, no, I don't! I don't wanna!" Gaara sobbed as his tormentor chuckled and leaned in closer.

"Oh, but _I_ do. " Gaara screamed as the man morphed into a dark looking creature. A larger head took over the human one, the eyes large and ominous. "Don't you wanna _play_?"

The freak of a monster lurched forward, a terrific gurgling sound emerging from its throat. It sounded almost as if it was choking on its laughter, and if that was laughter, he must've found Gaara's predicament pretty damn hilarious.

Gaara reeled backwards, away from its groping hands and tried to slither under the bed. He was taller than he remembered- it was as if he had just grown three feet in the two seconds that it had taken to dive under the bed. He cried out as one of its wet, clammy hands closed down around his ankles. Kicking out at it, he broke free. "Come back here, Gaara, boy! Let's have a little fun!"

"No! Never, you sick fuck! It's not _fun! _" Gaara held back an infuriated shout as he wiggled out from underneath the bed to the other side, in a manner consistent with army-style. But, when he got up and started to run, he glanced back. The bed, as well as the bedroom, was gone. He was surrounded by dark grey, nearly black. But not complete black. The only thing that was completely dark was the creature following him.

He glanced over his shoulder as he sprinted through the gray haze, emitting a loud scream as the monster leaped and pinned him to the ground. "Let me go!"

"Never." Gaara cringed away from that damned harsh whisper, and then cried out when the arms of the monster wrapped around him.

Gaara bolted up in his seat, the sounds of his screaming rousing him from his sleep. He flopped back onto the bed, lacing his hands behind his head in a weary sort of way. Why was he having nightmares like this all of a sudden? The big dark man had been gone for a long time, and its sudden re-occurrence startled him to know end. What the reason for their return?

He rolled over onto his side and stared at the door, the heavy sound of his brother's breathing on the other half of the couch somewhat soothing. He tried to ignore the throbbing sensations that arose in his skull at the thought of his brother, but found that they got worse the harder he focused on ignoring them. Avoiding the thought of them was easier than trying to ignore the pain that they caused, because to ignore pain it had to be acknowledged in the first place.

Gaara, chest heaving, glanced over to his brother, who lay sprawled out on the opposite side of the couch. Feverish mumblings were slipping from his lips as well, and his breathing was distorted. Gaara hadn't realized it, but when his brother's breathing and distress increased, so did his own. He'd been matching his breaths to his brother's deeper, slower ones in an attempt to fall back asleep. However, it had only led him to hyperventilate.

Gaara's breathing tripped when suddenly there was freshly applyed wait to the area of the couch above his shoulder, and he looked up to see the giggling indifference of the pink-haired girl. Lately he'd been unsure about his motives toward her, and her sudden appearance- not the mention the manner in which she conducted it- further stumped him.

She looked away, only turning her gaze back to him when he could tell she was no longer able to stand the deathly glare. "Well... What-?"

"Hn." Gaara looked away, turning his glower to the television screen.

"You're cute when you're asleep." Mused Sakura, leaning comfortably into the back of the couch. Gaara snorted and didn't look away from the TV.

"What the hell would _you _know about cute?"

"A lot." Sakura replied, the smile evident in her tone. Gaara turned to look at her, his sneer deepened by her jovial appearance. This wasn't right... "But you, obviously, do _not._ I bet barely anyone called-"

"Well, _don't _call me cute, or I'll-" Gaara thought for a moment, "I'll kill you. You hear me?"

Sakura laughed and rolled her eyes, tuning out the hazy laughter on the television. "You know, Gaara, I never figured you as one for sitcoms..."

"I'm not. This is just the only channel I could find that doesn't have infomercials on at like three in the morning."

"Uh-huh. Sure. Maybe you're just missing the normalness that you're _supposed _to have. Maybe it's a sign! Maybe it means something! Gaara, this is _huge_. I think we should tell Tsunade. Maybe she'll give you an award, or something! _Somebody sound the alarms! Gaara is having emotional progression!" _Sakura giggled at her own sarcastic skepticism. Gaara's lips curled slightly in the effort of a wry smile. Sakura bit her lip, suddenly nervous, and leaned forward slightly. "So, why can't I call you cute?"

"I dunno... My uncle used to call me that."

"Oh, really? That's cool, I guess. What would you _prefer_ I call you, Gaara?"

Gaara, missing the sexy allure of her tone, shrugged. Sakura rolled her eyes, and started again. "So, I don't really have any uncles. Lucky." Sakura frowned when he bolted up and his hand streaked to her face, stopping just before the slap could effect itself. His hand hovered there, usnure of whether or not he was apt to follow though with the action.

"Uh-uh. _Don't _say that."

"Why not? Sakura asked curiously, her frown lessening with the realization that he wasn't going to hit her. Her own hands sought to comfort him, but she reined them in before she contacted him, remembering his offense to physical contact.

"I-hn. Why would I actually tell _you _anything?" Gaara snorted his disdain, practically throwing himself off of the couch before nearly sprinting back to his room. Sakura followed him just as quickly, her small frame slipping past him as he walked into his room. "Do you need something?"

"Yeah, actually." Sakura brushed past his human barricade, and smiled as she dropped herself down onto his bed. She giggled at the fierce expression he bore, knowing that the intense resolve he seemed to appeal to meant nothing.

"_Well_?"

Sakura's smile faded as she remembered what she was meant to ask him in the first place, and Gaara's own lips lifted slightly. "Why did-... You helped me, and you didn't have to. I-... why did you do that?"

"I dunno. Maybe I like messing with you. Maybe I think that's _my _job. I guess that means you're my bitch." Sakura laughed aloud at this, falling into a breathless fit of laughter.

"Oh my god- was- did- _you. Just. Told. A. Joke!"_

Gaara shrugged, tugging as hard as he could at his lips. Was this a smile? Did it count? His smile fell as he worried that he would never smile again. It seemed that even when he _was _having fun- even a tiny bit- he couldn't bring himself to smile. He was broken.

Sakura stiffened slightly when suddenly his hand looped around her wrist, and he leaned in. "Scared?"

She nodded, and he smirked. "You're not a fighter, that's for sure." He sighed again when she rolled her eyes in response. What good was picking on someone if you barely got any reaction?

"All right, look. I've got a deal to make with you, and I don't particularly care what you think of it. You're going to carry out your part of the deal whether you like it or not. Don't ask me why either- I think I actually am crazy for considering this."

"What exactly are you considering?" She looked over to his brother, wondering if he really was asleep. She thought about how awkward it would be if he was awake after all.

"There are people here that would do things- horrible things. Even in here they're capable of effecting their fantasies, but I can... stop them from hurting you. Don't think this means I like you or anything, or that we're friends. I'm just doing this because I'm the only one that gets to screw with your mind."

"What the hell are you getting at?" Demanded Sakura, trying to replace her immense fear with anger.

"I'm getting at this- some of the people here would torture you to death, and then make a wax model out of you to keep the 'memory' alive." Sakura visibly shuddered at this, and Gaara chuckled darkly. "I'll look out for you, got it? But _you've _got to stay away from who I say, and do as I tell you without question. Don't bother asking why- if I've said it, then chances are it's pretty damned important."

Sakura giggled, nervously looking away. She turned her gaze back to him, smiling the shy nervous smile that she hadn't aired in quite a while. Gaara frowned slightly, his lightly colored eye brows drawing together in a contemplative pose. Sakura's lips parted in prompt to ask him what was wrong, but she found herself suddenly unable to talk. Gaara suddenly leaned in, planting a smooth, burning kiss on her parted lips. He pulled back slower than he'd gone in, but it wasn't exactly a slow withdrawal. It all happened so fast that she didn't know what to make of it.

"Hn. I would've thought that would be more exciting." In response to her look of disproval, he made an amused sort of grunt. Lifting himself from the bed, he easily sauntered from the room in that specific way that he had. Sakura stared after in disbelief. What the hell had just happened?

* * *

Naruto pulled Sasuke down to him, his fingers scrabbling for purchase on the Sasuke's belt.

"Naruto, w-"

"_What._ Now?" Growled Naruto, curling his fisted fingers into Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke grimaced at the gesture, hanging his head. Naruto's hands released, and then reattached on both sides of his head. "_What?"_

"I dont..." Sasuke growled impatiently as he tried to think of the words that would not come. Playfully, Naruto rolled them over so that he was pinning his dark-haired counterpart.

"Don't tell me you're _scared._ I was gonna make you work for this, but it looks to me like I'm doing more work than you!"

"Get off me."

"H-huh? But, I thou-" Sasuke snorted and cut Naruto's statement off.

"_You _thinking? Don't make me_ laugh!_" Sasuke shoved at Naruto who still hadn't moved, and then let out a low, rumbling sigh of disproval. "Get off me, you idiot. I'm not having sex with you."

"Why not?" Demanded Naruto, shoving himself off of Sasuke and onto the narrow bed. He used more force than neccesary, glad to see that the wind was knocked out of Sasuke in the process.

"I- this is different. You wouldn't know what I meant if I tried to explain it!" Sasuke rolled off the lower bunk and plopped down in his chair by the barred window.

"So? You could at least tell me what's _wrong_! What did I do this time?" Naruto's lips sank into a grimace when Sasuke didn't look up from the bars of the window.

"It's not- oh, god, this sounds so corny. It's_ me, _but it's you, too. Because, ... of how I feel about you."

"Oh... You don't... Like me?" Whispered Naruto, his eyes downcast. Sasuke flinched and hastily shook his head, even though Naruto couldn't see him.

"I never said that, at least not about _this." _Sasuke hissed. Naruto's confused expression didn't even surprise him.

"About _what_? I don't get it..." Naruto groaned, covering his face with both of his hands.

"I like you, Naruto. This is different than... I don't usually stick around after I have sex with somebody. I'm not good with the whole relationship thingy. I mean, I _want _to, this time, but...sex complicates things for me. "

"Oh..." Naruto smiled slightly and then sighed. Sasuke smiled, and silently they agreed to hold off on the sex. It was going to be a long day, and an awkward wait.

* * *

The music at the party was loud, a bit too loud- which was a good thing. It would work in their favor when they were trying to muffle Kisame's screams. Not that he'd be able to scream, once they got through with him.

Sakura looked around, trying to find him. They'd all been forced to show their costume in art the day previous, to get them all used to seeing each other. That way it would be a sure thing to identify who everyone was, and to keep fights from breaking out. Some people would be leery of the costumes had they not seem them enough times before the Halloween party.

Gaara, decked out in some of the creepiest threads she'd ever seen, waited patiently by the door. He was in line for the bathroom, which was moving very slowly thanks to Naruto and Sasuke's antics. They'd clogged all the toilets, and even some of the urinals. This way Gaara would be free to stand about without looking completely out of place. And when he got mad enough, he could stalk into the bathroom. He would get 'mad' whenever they caught sight of Kisame.

Kiba was in charge of covering the snack table- he was the most obvious one other than Naruto to go for the food. Kallou hung close to him, unsure of what to do other than that. It was obvious now- even to the other patients. The few girls that had been hounding Kiba- pun intended- had withdrawn their ploys, seeing Kallou as an obstacle. Obstacles didn't agree with them.

Sakura readjusted the hem of her micro-mini skirt, hoping to at least cover her ass-cheeks. For a homosexual, Naruto sure liked to showcase. Her outfit consisted of a short- _very _short- skirt of a deep green color, as well as a tube-top covered in leaves and vines. A shrug- deep brown and feathery- was tightly fit to her shoulders and securely fastened at near the beginning of the expanse of her ribs. The shrug- in some odd, intricate design by Naruto- tapered into fantastic wings. Her skin had been tinted by Kai with some sort of make-up. Her skin tone was now sallowed, her pink hair standing out in the crowd. She was some sort of Earth Faerie, and Gaara was her counterpart, though he was more subtle and less obvious. He seemed to be the evil part of the earth.

He wore snuggly fit pair of jeans, dark brown in color. His shirt was green, and covered in already-there leaves and elemental designs. His hair was as wild as ever, and his skin tone was darkened to a moody tanish green. He'd been taking forever to do it himself, and had finally allowed Kai to help him out. His shoes were dark moccasins of a smooth material, because hard soled shoes were not allowed. They matched Sakura's knee-highs perfectly.

Kallou and Kiba were adorned in matching outfits that didn't quite resemble the dog look they were going for. Both wore brown shirts and pants- Kiba wore a pair of Kallou's skinnies- and both had on brown flip-flops. Kallou's hair was pulled into little pigtails that somewhat resembled dog ears, and painted brown. Her face and skin was painted in accordance to Kiba's demands. Kai had given both of them a distinct dog look, though was still not very happy about how it had turned out. Not that it mattered- the two love-puppies had been kissing when their make-up was still wet.

Shikamaru was going as a stoner- for the simple ease of changing, and the lack of effort. His outfit consisted of loose-fit jeans, a band t-shirt, and his hair pulled back in a lazy pony-tail that allowed for strands of his bangs to hang free. In essence, he had the whole stoner thing down, he just needed the stereotypical clothing.

Naruto was wearing... well, he was looking pretty scary, actually. He was decked out in a dark robe, with all sorts of fake instruments hanging off of it, as well as blood oozing from random cuts and bruises. Fake blood stained his hair and dribbled down the side of his face. Sasuke was his victim, and oozed an even greater amount of blood.

Kankuro had decked himself out in shredded garbs, and Kai had painted him to be a ghoulish, pale color. His eyes bled a deep red, and his hair was sticking up at odd angles that suggested bed head of a dangerous degree. He and Kai matched him as well. They both looked quite terrifying, but that was okay- it was what they were going for.

Kai looked up from her position by the 'DJ'- it was actually their history teacher dressed up in what he called his 'gangster attire', and scoped around for their target. His gray-white hair looked out of place in comparison to his hip clothing, but he wasn't exactly old, so it worked.

She couldn't find him- where the hell had he gone? Did he know that he was going to die? Kai sighed, turning her head to glance over at the door where Kankuro leaned casually against the wall. He shrugged only slightly, and she rolled her eyes in aggravation.

In the process of rolling her eyes she found him. He was creeping along in the shadows of the dance floor in a manner most creepy. Kai caught Sakura's eye, and wordlessly gestured to him. This was going to be fun. However, catching the bastard was only the beginning.

* * *

Gaara bristled angrily, catching the subtle signal easily, just as they knew he would. Shoulder his way past some of those waiting in line, he was amused at how their expressions quickly changed from angered to submissive when they realized who he was. Kiba and Naruto looked up with surprise when he waltzed in, cool and relaxed as ever.

"Get the fuck out. You screw-ups have had your time. Now let me piss before I rip your heads off."

Of course, there were still other men in the bathroom- one of them was open, but it was hard for some men to take a piss when there were two other men- especially one that had been rumored to be gay. Gaara snickered at the pricelessly well acted expressions they bore, and laughed out loud when they hunched their shoulders and waddled out of the bathroom, their pants around their ankles. He had no idea what the last bit was for, but it was priceless.

Hurrying to relieve himself- of course had actually had to pee, for it wouldn't be real enough if he didn't- he then stalked out of the restroom at a pace that would impress even some of the fastest speedwalkers. His lean legs covered the ground quickly, and in no time at all he was closing the gap between himself and Kisame. However, once he was within reaching distance, he was shocked to see that Sakura had already beat him to it. Kisame was- or at least he _thought _he was- talking her into taking a "walk". Kisame probably thought he was either getting laid or a quick meal.

"Sakura, what are you doing?" He hissed, his hands encircling her arms. Kisame frowned, and Sakura rolled her eyes. "I thought I talked to you about th-"

"Gaara, relax. Kisame's harmless. He's a _chef_ for crying out loud. What's_ he _gonna do? And besides, you don't own me- I'm my _own _woman! I can do _what _I want with _whoever _I want. Got it?"

Gaara's breath stopped in its tracks, and he glared at her with such intensity that she almost broke. He didn't know that she wasn't serious- he couldn't know. She didn't know his acting skills- whenever he did something, he meant it. If he didn't honestly mean he anger at her, then it might not work. She wasn't sure of whether or not Kisame would've bought his act of anger, unless it was real.

Gaara stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest as he tried to keep from killing Kisame right there. She was _his._ She didn't get to do that- or even discuss it- with anyone other than him, now that they'd made that agreement. Sure he hadn't actually said it, but he'd implied the meaning behind his deal. She was going right back on it, and he'd likely kill her for it, if Kisame didn't first.

"Ooh, I love taking strolls around the halls! It's so quiet, and peaceful..." Breathed Sakura easily. Gaara cocked a brow, unsure of how she could go from being a terrible actor to a great one in no time flat.

"How 'bout we take a... _long_ walk, Sakura?" Kisame pressed, his voice a low, rumbling tone that Gaara wasn't sure of. It could've been menacing or an attempt at sexy- either would've been terrifying to Sakura.

Sakura slipped her hand into Kisame's, and smiled over Kisame's shoulder at Gaara, raising a suggestive brow. Gaara growled loudly, the sound dying when even Kisame turned to look at him. "Hey, look, man, she's done with you. It's my turn now. Somehow, I don't think you'll mind too much."

Gaara's breath froze again when he said that. Kisame nodded slightly at the panicked expression on Gaara's face, and Sakura rolled her eyes- another show of good acting. Shikamaru had given her something to make her more alert, and whatever it was had worked. Her cheeks lifted in a soothing smile, and she grabbed Kisame by the arm.

"Come on, let's go, already. I want to get back in time for the best costume award!" She giggled as she looked Gaara up and down, and then she turned to Kisame again. "I wonder if Naruto and Sasuke will win."

Gaara anxiously looked down at his own clothing, suddenly ashamed of their lack of character. He felt the anger welling up in the pit of his stomach, and he mentally groaned. Why now? She picked now of all times to make him feel vulnerable? She tried to catch his eye again and give him some kind of reassurance- she hadn't meant to go this far! Her eyes had softened, and she longed to reach out and hug him. But that couldn't happen. He never looked up, and he never caught her eye. Sakura gulped, turning to go with Kisame. She would never have gone that far if she had known it might disuade him from helping her. From the looks of it, it seemed that he was going to let Kisame do what he wanted. Sakura regretted her moment of acting genius, and she was afraid it would come back and haunt her.

* * *

Kallou looked over to Kiba, moving into action when he gave her that slight nod. Now was the time.

Moving along the edge of the dance floor, she blended into the darkness that welled up in the corners of the large room. Ducking under her table, she yanked the white uniform on. It was a doctor's outfit. Not the slutty Halloween kind, but an actual copy of the doctor's scrubs and white coat. The others all had different outfits, and this was the only one that she could find on such short notice- especially that would match her deeply colored skin. She had a medical mask over her mouth to cover the dog features, and she could only hope that it would be enough to conceal her identity.

She peaked out from under the tablecloth to make sure that there was no one coming towards the table, and then quick-as-could be scurried out from underneath of it. Making her way towards the door, she made a big show of tripping and stumbling. She looked half-drunk, and she was hoping that it would appear she was heading back towards her room. Of course, there wasn't alchohol in the place, but she looked old enough to pass for twenty-one, and if they suspected alchohol....

They'd go searching for it, instead of searching for her. Tsunade eyed her once or twice before directing a nurse to take her back to her room.

The nurse, of course, didn't know which room number, and asked Tsunade. Tsunade called the nurse a few choice words, and then told him to go ask the _'drunk-son-of-a-bitch',_ not her. He nodded vigorously before heading over to Kallou and gently taking her by the arm. Leading her towards the door, he asked her politely where her room was. Kallou slurred, and thought quickly on her feet. She'd planned on just knocking the guy out when they left the room, but he was too sweet.

She continued to point directions to the gullible nurse, feeling only slightly bad about misleading him. At least they were doing something for a greater cause, right?

Kiba caught up to them in no time at all, having escaped the confines of yet another 'cell'. It was something he was known for. Escaping. He hadn't thought of escaping lately, because he'd had his eye on the prize. Ironically, keeping his eye on this prize meant him escaping.

* * *

"Come on, sugar. I thought you wanted this." Kisame Chuckled, his voice ominous and oddly endearing. It seemed that he truly did love her, but it was equally terrifying in that she knew he meant otherwise.

"N-no. I wanted a walk, and a talk. Kisame, this is too- it's too fast!" Sakura's thin hands pressed against him in an attempt to ward him off, but he pressed forward.

Gaara watched from the apex of the wall into an outward-angled apex. He peaked out silently, begging her to notice him. He was begging her to notice that he _wasn't _protecting her. He wanted her to realize that she needed him more than he'd ever need her.

Sakura's eyes squeezed tight as Kisame leaned in, and her breathing faltered, settling into a frenzied fit of hyperventilation. Her eyes opened again when he bit her shoulder, his teeth sinking deep into the flesh. She bit back her scream, her neck twisting as she avoided looking at her attacker. Her eyes flickered past Gaara, and then reeled back to look at him. He narrowed his eyes, and lifted his chin in a defiant manner, and she grunted angrily.

Kisame looked up, her blood trickling from his lips and she tried to repress the grimace. She made herself make a moaning sound when he bit her again, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Gaara bristle.

"Come on. I thought I was your _bitch, _Gaara!" Sakura retorted in a stage-whisper. She was responding to his sullen silence, and finally she was getting something out of him.

"Huh? What are-" Kisame broke off when Gaara arms enclosed his neck and shoulders. Pinning the larger man against himself, he wrestled Kisame in a choke-hold to the floor. Sakura let out a sigh of relief, and sank to the floor. Cradling her wounds with one hand, she leaned over Kisame to spit in his face.

"Stupid, sick, fuck!" Sakura's lip curled back in disdain when he only laughed in response, the sound coming out gurgled and frightful. Gaara's eyes widened a fraction, and then he pressed down harder.

By the time everyone else around, Kisame was out cold. They were going to have to take him back to their own wing and tie him up. They at least deserved to have a little fun with him, didn't they? There was more than one point to mutilating him. His own pain and humiliation- which wouldn't be felt if he wasn't lucid enough to feel it- and the message to the public. What point was a slicing and dicing if they wouldn't get any satisfaction out of it?

* * *

Naruto rested his head on Sasuke's shoulder, not caring if some of his make-up smeared. He was having fun, and he knew Sasuke was too.

As much fun as they were having, none of them could wait to get back to the wing so they could begin their task. Sasuke tilted Naruto's chin up to look him in the eyes, and Naruto blushed slightly when Sasuke kissed him in front of everyone. Naruto's moment of extreme-horn-doggedness had passed, and he no longer felt the urge to hump the living hell out his dancing partner.

They went back to dancing, their kiss aired to everyone. Sasuke grinned triumphantly to all the girl patients that'd been eying him and trying to get him to sleep with them. He was finally free of their endless nagging.

As they slow danced, some of the others- of their wing, anyway- were stuffing themselves with the food. More than one of them was stealing it and putting it away in secret pockets for later. Kiba chuckled mischievously as he shoveled cookies and such into his pockets, right in front of Tsunade. She merely rolled her eyes and laughed, glad that he was eating human food again.

Kankuro was pulling Kai out to the dancefloor in an effort to get her to dance, but she was resisting with all she was worth. She didn't dance. Not because she didn't want to; she couldn't- she didn't know _how. _Kankuro rolled his eyes, and picked her up, placing her on top of his toes. He wasn't the best dancer in the world, but he was at least going to save her from embarrassing herself.

Gaara and Sakura sat quietly on the sidelines, leaning back on their hands. They held hands in that lazy sort of way that only involved the slight touching of two or three fingers, with no real holding- just touching. Every so often they'd turn to look at one another, and one of them would smile in a manner most specific to him or herself. It was like they were telling little jokes that only the two of them knew.

Naruto looked over to Kiba, smiling slightly when he saw that his friend was still at the snack table with Kallou as they raided for sweets and treats. Leave it to Kiba.

Looking around again, he noticed that someone was missing. Funny thing was, he couldn't remember who it was...

* * *

Kai marched down the hallway in a huff, her angry breathing sending her heart into a flurried frenzy of beats. That asshole. He didn't even like her- he just wanted to _get in her pants._ Turning the corner, she faltered. There was a pale, sickly thin man mopping the floors in front of the stairs that she was planning on decending.

Spinning on her heel, she moved to walk in the opposite direction. She could always find another set of stairs, it wasn't as if that was a huge problem. At the opposite end of the hall, she turned left and then wandered down that hall. She was met with an intersection of hallways, and suddenly found herself of unsure of which direction to take. Left or right? Straight? Did she turn around and try to find another way?

Taking a deep breath, she carried straight on. The signs on the walls clearly expressed the room numbers for this hall, and they were- as far as she remembered- sure to lead her in the direction of her wing and room.

After walking about ten minutes, she came to another set of stairs. Padding lightly down them, sure paused at the bottom. There weren't any numbers, or even signs at all to help her out now. Wasn't she supposed to listen to her instincts right about now?

Her instincts told her left, but her mind told her right. Kai turned left, following her instincts. Sure she had warped instincts, but her mind was just as dodgedly so.

She didn't exactly know where she was going anymore, but she didn't mind. It was weird. She was scared, but not enough to go back and find her way. Should she even be scared in a place like this? It was supposed to be safe!

Yet... She couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. Or followed. She kept going though, trying to force herself oblivious of it all. It made things easier; to not pay attention made it all seem trivial.

Sighing, she wandered aimlessly down the hall, her mind meandering through the minutia of bullshit. Every so often it seemed she was tripping over her feet, but she didn't really notice it. The world looked beautiful, all full of colors and such. It was might pretty.

Coming to the end of the hall- which actually turned out to be a dead end- she swore and turned around once again in attempt to retrace her steps. However, it seems that retracing one's steps is quite hard when the exact steps are forgotten.

* * *

Kanukro paced down the hall, his angry breathing under-accentuating his immense anger. Why did he always end up with the squeamish ones?

He liked her, as much as he could stand to be around _anyone_, but she infuriated him to no end. It wasn't like that was even a big deal- people had sex everywhere, all the time. It wasn't an outlandish request- he'd actually asked her first, instead of just laying down the law like others would've.

Exhaling through his nose he rounded a bend, and his stomach bottomed out. The janitor mopping near the head of the steps had scared the shit out of him. Quickly pulling back and away from the guy, he hid behind the wall where he slowed his raging heartbeat. Leave it to him to be scared out of his wits by a janitor.

Making his way down the other set of stairs, he let his anger grow. He built on it, getting himself pumped up for the argument that he knew they'd have. He was more of a physical person, not an argumentative type. Hashing out his thoughts with her was going to be a real pain in the ass, and he'd rather be ready for it.

When he finally found her, he could've laughed aloud. She was trying to pull her arm free of the janitor, and when she saw him she stopped tugging and leaned into the janitor as if it was a completely normal thing. "What? Can't a girl change her mind?"

"Yeah, but not you. Not about this, and especially not about _that._" He laughed at the expression on the janitor's face when he realized that Kankuro was in fact pointing at him. Kai's features brightened slightly as he let her go, but then she turned around and kicked him in the shin, even though she was wearing flip flops.

She surprised Kankuro by slapping across the face. "You ass! I would've been- alright, I wouldn't fine; but, you still don't get to ride in here on your white horse and make me feel guilty for not... Gah! Get away from me!"

Kankuro only smiled and stepped aside. "So, you gonna find your way back to the wing? What if creeper follows? It's not like you're reporting him- who'd believe _your _wild stories?" Kankuro giggled like a child as her enraged expression seeped away.

"I... Kankuro, I hate you." He could tell she meant it at the moment, but in a few hours he knew she'd like him again.

"I know. It's my specialty, ya know. People hating my guts." Kai snorted at this, and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, just try to make me feel guilty. Not gonna work." Kai jogged ahead, and Kankuro only had to walk to keep up; his long legs covered twice as much ground as her shorter ones.

She ended up finding her way back just fine. Kankuro had known she would, but he like to mess with her. She didn't, but what could she do about it? Refuse to kiss him? They both knew that she liked it too damned much to care if he had character flaws.

**Author's Note: I am so sorry!!!! I didn't mean to take so long! This last part was a pain in the ass to write. :( So, forgive me? Sorry it its short or whatever, I'm running out of inspiration! HELP MEE!!!! **

**Also, would you all be mad if I put this on hold to begin my vampire story? I actually have a plot written out and everything for that story, and updates would be a sure thing. :) So, it's up for vote! **

**A- Continue this- or try to anyway**

**B- Start vampire story and give this a break.**


	15. Oral Persuasion

The blood was all rushing to his head, and he couldn't stand the immense tingling in his feet. What the hell was going _on? _Kisame grunted as he tried to lift his head from the metal frame of whatever he was so crudely shackled to. His wrist and ankles hurt something terrible, the metal that cut into them leaving harsh, angry welts and indents.

There was the loud shrieking sound of a radiator pipe, and he nearly shrieked along with it. His muscles clenched as he bucked and shook trying to free himself. He glanced around, trying to figure out what it was that so effectively trapped him. It was... Jesus Christ it was a fucking bed! They'd taken one of the last things that he associated with pleasure from him. He'd never look at a bed the same way again...

"Help! Somebody help me!" His voice was hoarse, and speaking evoked a new grating sort of pain that seared across and around his trachea. He coughed and spit a few times, taking care to spit sideways so it didn't hit him. "Hel-" He broke off as the door creaked open a stretch, and then stopped moving. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat, and his muscles tensed nervously as he heard a gleeful snicker.

"Who's there! Come let me out of here! Bastards! Let me go!" He let out a very raged man-scream, the tortured, rage-filled kind that sent shivers down frail women's spines. He begins to spew death threats, the malice-strewn words tumbling from his lips effortlessly. The door slams open, and he visibly jolts and twists to look. "Wait! _You! _You stupid bitch- I'll cut your throat ou-"

"You're in quite the position to be making threats, aren't you?" Purred Sakura, dropping easily into a squat. She stared defiantly in Kisame's eyes, the amusement radiating off of her more than enough to spark his curiosity- not to mention his fear.

"What are you up to, Pepto?" He sneered disdainfully. "I ou-"

"You ought to shut up, Kisame," Interrupted Sakura, patting him on the cheek as a father might do to a young boy. "It's time to be quiet now. I want to have some fun, and I can have you getting me all _excited." _There was something about the way that she said excited that made him want to run for the hills. Could she even do this? Surely not the run-down pink-haired girl! She wouldn't do something like this! He didn't even know what she was doing, but she was sure he wouldn't like it.

"Help me! Somebody help!" Kisame strained against his bindings, rocking the bed back and forth, the sounds of metals colliding together rewarding his efforts.

"Ah-ah-ah! You don't want to do that. Do you want me to cut out that pretty little tongue of yours?" Purred Sakura, her sympathetic gaze imploring him to listen as she took his face in her hands. "It'd be an awful shame to start my fun without the others. I'd feel selfish."

"The-... others? What're you talking about 'the others?'" He was shaking now- the big rock of a man trembling under her touch. Sakura had never felt so powerful.

"Wha- didn't we _tell _you? Oh, dear _me._" Sakura chuckled and put on a pouting expression. "You poor thing. No one told you... We're going to kill you."

* * *

The rippling peel of his scream echoed off the small walls of the little bathroom, and Gaara licked his lips. He leaned in and grabbed a fistful of Kisame's hair, jerking the head back to cause Kisame to cry out. "Please! Stop it- no more!"

Gaara smiled, and paused as if to deliberate. "Yes. I think I'd like it to stop as well." Kisame immediately melted into tears, and whispered his thank yous, promising many times over never to tell. "I know you won't." Gaara whispered, the comforting tone of voice more eerie than the meaning behind the words. "Do you remember Kushina?"

"Huh? K-Kushina?" Kisame's knuckles tightened, his half-naked body breaking out in goose-bumps. He looked around the small room, from the empty bed frame to the apprehensive features of Sasuke. "Help me! You've got to help me! I can't take it anymore!"

Gaara turned to glare at Sasuke, whose eyes had widened and lips were quivering. Naruto stepped in front of his line of site, and soothingly brushed his fingers across Sasuke's cheeks. "It's alright, Sasuke. He's getting what he deserves."

Kisame's voice uttering his name jolted Naruto from his soothing ministrations. "Naruto, I'm sorry about your Mom- I didn't mean to hur-"

"My mother? What the hell do you know about my mother?" Naruto whirled around, at Kisame's throat faster than he could blink. Gaara knew his place and stepped back, his cold blue eyes narrowing in disgust. Naruto had never even known that it was his mother- Gaara was saving him the pain, but Kisame had just written his own death sentence. They'd planned on killing him anyway, but this really sealed the deal. Gaara knew Naruto like the others didn't- he'd experienced the suffering of losing his mother whom he held most dear, and it wasn't an easy thing. Naruto would make him suffer. Deeply.

"Who was my mother?" Naruto's voice was deadly-low and even, something that not even the South wing was accustomed to. His hand was clenched around Kisame's already tender neck, the pressure just enough for Kisame to feel it- just enough for him to feel the pain and anger that Naruto did.

"Her name was Kushina Uzumaki, and she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I could stare at her_ all _day long. She was like silk when I tasted her-" Naruto squeezed tighter and Kisame gagged.

"Don't talk about my mother like that, you bastard!" Growled Naruto, the tears forming in his eyes. "Did you know my father?"

Kisame struggled for breath, shifting his broken leg carefully to another position. "Yes," He hissed. "I did. He was tall, and blonde. He had your face. I'd know it anywhere. I hated that man with all I was worth- Gah!" Naruto's hand whipped across Kisame's face, the back of his palm reinforcing his emotion. "I'm sorry! I just- he was with the woman I wanted! He stole her from me! She loved _me _until he came along! I was young- but she was _mine._" Kisame tried to take in his angry breath, but his breathing was too ragged for Naruto's tight squeeze.

Kai tucked her face into Kankuro's arm, hiding the cruel site from her eyes. She didn't know who to be more mad at- it was becoming apparent that Kisame had done wrong to Naruto's parents, but Naruto was acting as she'd never seen him before. Kankuro glanced down at her only briefly before turning back to the main-attraction.

"I killed that bastard! I gutted him like a _fish! _I-" Naruto's roar of rage cut off Kisame's victorious rant, and he clambered into the tub with his father's killer.

"Do you know how long I spent wondering why my parent's left me? How long I spent crying myself to sleep because I thought they didn't love me?" The tears that had built-up washed over and streamed down his hot cheeks. "All because _you _had to- had to-!" A loud sob tore itself from his lips, and rattled into the ear-drums of everyone close.

"Naruto, they always loved you!" Hastened Kisame, trying to save some ground. "Your father begged me right before I- before-.... He made me promise not to hurt you or Kushina, and I'd-"

"Well you didn't keep that promise did you?!" Snarled Naruto, grabbing Kisame's head in his hands. He slammed it off the side of the tub a few times, faltering as the essence of his enemies form escape its restraints, splattering artfully across the white of the tub. Naruto stared a few minutes before running his fingers through the blood. Gaara could see the goosebumps breaking out across his flesh, and was immediately ejected from the present into a flashback of his first kill. It was a memory most enjoyably relived.

Sasuke nervously stepped forward, his steady hands resting on Naruto's shoulders. Naruto numbly looked up to him, his eyes blank and unseeing. Sasuke exhaled pitifully and swooped down to dip his hands under Naruto's arm-pits. He tugged, easily pulling Naruto from the tub. Naruto said nothing as Sasuke shifted him and carried him like a child from the room. He paused only briefly as he waited for Sakura and Kai to move. Kallou was mute through the whole ordeal.

"What do you _want _from me?" Pleaded Kisame, truly a pitiful sight to behold. His temple was bleeding from Naruto's blows, and his leg broken where Sakura had stomped it. Gaara had yet to even begin his fun, though Sakura didn't see him beginning within the next ten minutes. He had that far away look that she remembered from the session with Danzo, and she couldn't say that it didn't worry her.

She sauntered closer, her hips swaying seductively as she did so. Kai felt Kankuro staring, and viciously elbowed him in the chests. He only smirked down at her, and nodded to Kallou. Kallou had edged forward, and was toying with the shears. She'd been the one to find them in the gardener's tool box- she was after all the resident nature-lover. As she twirled the device between her fingers, she watched Sakura kneel down beside Kisame and took his hand.

"Honey, I already told you what we want." Kisame took a shuddering breath and began to blubber mindlessly after Sakura bitch-slapped him with a hard-plastic flip-flop.

"Please! I'll do anything! Just _stop! _Please! I'm sorry!" He looked around the room, trying to find someone that was willing to help him. Kallou greeted him with a lazy indifference that hinted towards the sadistic thoughts that swirled beneath her skin. Kankuro's cold glare further increased his blubbering, and Kiba's seemed unsure. He began to call out to him, but Kiba's glare hardened over, and he was effectively shut out. The only one left was Kai- and she was by non means defiant or angry looking. She just looked scared. "Kai! Help me! They're going to _kill _me! Please! No-no, Kankuro, stop!"

Kankuro's hands snaked up over Kai's shoulders and his palms pressed against Kai's ears, blocking out the majority of Kisame's screams. Kallou stood, sensing her friends instability, and turned to Kisame. She was blocking Kai's view, though she could see what she was about to do perfectly. She could feel the cold bubble of malicious indifference snaking it way up her chest as she latched the tongs onto Kisame's tongue. His scream was such a high pitch that Kiba had to cover his ears and cower in the corner. Kallou smacked Kisame in the side of the head with the sheers and picked up the tongs that she'd dropped.

Kisame began to struggle, realizing what the tongs and sheers were for, his heavy pants and groans becoming louder and increasingly frantic. Kiba inched closer, hesitant to help but ready to do so. Kallou tapped Kisame's shoulders in a rather instructional manner, and Kiba nodded, applying pressure to hold him still. Kisame wrenched his head around in a last ditch effort to escape the tongs from capturing his tongue, but Sakura grabbed a hold of his hair and held him in place.

"Nobody likes a snitch. Even if they snitch on themselves." Kallou snickered and lifted the tongs to Kisame's lips. He clenched his lips together, and despite Kallou's prodding she couldn't get him to open. "Kiba. Hold his nose shut," Instructed Kallou, her eyes flashing ominously. Kiba stretched his arm across Kisame's shoulders to pin him with that single arm, so that he could clamp the man's nostrils together. Surprisingly he didn't hold out long. As he gasped for breath, Kallou deftly slipped the tongs into his mouth and latched onto the tongue. She pulled it straight and tested the sheers a few times before lifting them. Gaara was coming back into himself, and he leaned in interestedly.

Kallou smiled slightly as the cool metal came into contact with the wet, verbal appendage. She slide the blades of the gardening sheers to the proper location at the hilt of the muscle, trying not to get distracted by his open sobbing.

Kai stared intently at the blades pressed into the tender flesh, her heart racing. Kankuro's hands still covered her ears, though the sounds Kisame was making were hardly the least of her troubles. There was an odd gurgle of a scream that escaped Kisame as the blades slowly came together, the sight of the flesh separating from itself nauseatingly drawn out. Kai could feel her stomach trying to reject her meal, though she knew it wouldn't come up. She felt arms wrap around her, but didn't really notice them. All she could see was the lips, and the blood that poured from them, and how ironic it was for him to gape like a fish. How could he scream like that, if he needed to breath so badly? She didn't even know a man could scream like that!

She could vaguely tell she was being guided from the room, but she didn't protest. She knew what they wanted to do- if him being castrated was anything like him getting his tongue cut off, she didn't want to be there.

* * *

Gaara only stared with satisfaction as Kisame gagged and choked on the object lodged in his throat, a deep chuckle emerging from the dark corners of his mind and leaving his body through close lips. The light was leaving Kisame's eye as he slowly faded away, into the unloving arm of death.

Sakura picked up her needle- a heavy duty needle worthy of sewing through leather- and threaded it with the length of ribbon. She hummed slightly as she pushed it through the skin, The needle's tip emerging easily on the other side of his lip. She pushed it through the inside of the lower lip and pulled the string tight. She cross-stitched the rest of his lips together, and then sighed with fatigue, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"It's time to wake up Shikamaru." She turned to Gaara, who waited for a response, and she sighed before nodding.

"This was the easy part. Getting him out of here's going to be a bitch." Sakura stood up, cracking her back. "We make a pretty good team, huh? You've got some crafty blade skills." Gaara merely chuckled and twirled the knife between his fingers. Naruto plucked the knife from his hand, and Gaara rose a brow.

"I'd like to leave a little message. Go get Shikamaru."

* * *

"What if they, like, take the blood from the drain? Or if they use those stupid lights and see that there was blood in there? Or if-" Kankuro's hand covered Kai's lips as he agitatedly silenced her.

"Just chill out, you insufferable woman." He growled, his voice gravelly with agitation. "I thought you were all for this."

"I was... I'm just... scared." Confessed Kai, wrapping her arms around herself. Kankuro rolled his eyes and pulled her against him.

"Quit being a wimp." He could feel the pent up stress leave her, and he smirked to himself. Even if this didn't feel exactly comfortable, he was sure earning brownie points. From what he could tell, she wasn't pissed at him anymore.

* * *

Shikamaru blinked slowly, staring at the bathroom. It seemed that only a second ago he'd been pulled into the bathroom to find the tub filthy and blood-soaked. The drugs he'd taken from Kai that day had woken him up excellently; he'd felt motivated more than ever in his life. He was moving around and having fun- if you could call scrubbing blood from a bathtub that. He calculated and recalculated everything, even down to scrubbing out the grout and bleaching them. He'd do it daily for the next few days, to ensure that he got it out. He'd seen enough TV to know that a quick dash of it wouldn't do the trick.

He didn't remember stealing the bleach either, but then again he was having such a blast that he felt invincible. The bathroom was spotless, but he was still walking around and trying to clean things up. He took the sheers apart, unscrewing the little bolt that locked the two sides of the tool together. The pieces had been cleaned, as well as all the grooves, and even on the screw. It was a fine job.

After about half an hour or roaming around trying to straighten up the living room, and chastising anyone who messed it up it was suggested to him that he cleaned his and Kiba's room. Kiba was surprisingly the one who suggested it, but that was okay. Shikamaru had a goal- and he never backed down from goals that he himself set. He was strange like that, but then who around here wasn't?

* * *

Gaara hefted the body higher on his shoulder. It was still lax and pliable in the youth of its death. He carefully spread his arms out on the table, tying them down so that it would take long enough for them to get the body out of there that more than one person would see it. He hummed to himself as he packed up his tools. The message that Naruto had left on Kisame's chest was nothing short of ingenious, and Gaara had had a good chuckle at the irony of him being a chef. This irony had led to the 'place-of-viewing' as Sakura referred to it. It only seemed fitting that he'd be found in a place he knew his way best.

Gaara couldn't deny that little bounce in his step as he crept silently back to his room. Shikamaru had taken care of forensics and clearing away all fingerprints and cleaning the place up, but Gaara had had to take him out to the drop him off because he was the quietest of all of them. Sneaking for him was easy; it was second nature. He absently licked the blood off of his finger, forgetting it to be what it was. He made a face, and moved to wipe it on his pants, and then faltered. Blood on his clothing would be a give away. He grimaced and sucked the rest of the blood off his fingers, and runs his fingers through his hair. It's been a long day. But, it was a fun day- all in all.

The lighting is cheap in the hallways, but it's passable. He makes it to his room in record time, his lengthy stalk of a step carrying him quickly through the halls. The door is left open a crack for him, and he slips inside. Kankuro high-fives him, and Naruto flashes him a shaky thumbs up. Naruto's head flops back down on Sasuke's shoulder, and they continue to watch TV. As much as the two had in common, their taste in romantic partner was certainly not a common aspect. He loved the guy- as a brother, of course- but he was a bit weirded out by the 'liking cock' part.

Gaara glanced over to Kankuro, noticing how he and Kai sat shoulder to shoulder, leaning comfortably against one another. Something was going on there, and he was almost relieved by it. Kankuro would probably be off his back now that he was gettin' some. As far as Gaara could tell, anyway. He rolled his eyes as Kiba flashed him a wolf-like grin, just now noticing his arrival. The canine-wannabe easily fell back into conversation with his uncharacteristically attentive partner, and immediately ignored Gaara's attempt at a wave. Why was it that no one ever noticed when he tried to be polite and say hello?

Gaara grunted indignantly, and looked around for his target. He knew that he could always rattle her cage a bit to rise out of his slump. He didn't see her, but he didn't bother asking where she was either. Gaara walked over to the door to her bedroom, and gently eased it open. He slipped silently inside, not bothering to knock or announce his presence. How could a guy scare someone if they knew he was there already?

The doors were known for squeaking when opened, but Gaara had always known how to worm his way around sounds. The door silently slipped back to its shut position, and Gaara looked around. Kallou's stuff was scattered haphazardly across the room, though Sakura's items were definitely more neat. It'd been a while since he came in here to terrorize her... But he knew that this time it would be more fun- there wouldn't be any killer intent. That is, unless he got bored.

He could hear the shower running, and he could feel the humidity that leaked out under the door. The door to the bathroom automatically locked when fully closed, though it was easy enough to open. But, Gaara left it be and wandered around the room looking through her things again. The last time he'd been in here his search for information had been prematurely cut short.

He picked up a plastic figurine off the top of the dresser, and studied it for a moment. It was a little kitty, the large eyes crooning upward. His lips tightened, and he sat back it down on its surface. There were many of them, though he was almost absolutely sure that they meant nothing to her.

He picked up the picture frame that he knew contained the photo of her and Sai, and then frowned. The picture was gone, replaced with a newer one of her. He rose a brow and set it back down, turning around when the door opened.

Sakura took one look at him, and screamed, clutching the towel tighter around herself before glaring at him. "You scared the hell out of me! Don't you even knock?!"

"No... I like to be _spontaneous!" _He clapped his hands and smiled snarkily. Sakura snorted and rolled her eyes, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"Okay. Well... Turn around, would you?" She wandered over to her dresser, and Gaara obliged wordlessly.

"So, you're not gonna ask me to leave?" He asked cautiously, his voice carrying a tone that he himself didn't understand. Was he hopeful? Hell, he didn't even know what he was feeling right now...

"Nope. Why should I? I'd be wasting my breath. You wouldn't leave anyway." She turned to smile at him as she adjusted her bra-straps and then smiled for a different reason. She'd never expected him to actually turn around.

"Nope." Affirmed Gaara, shaking his head. "I was gonna come in here to... you know, but I guess this is easier. I mean, I can _always _terrorize you, right?" He grinned devilishly and Sakura's eyes narrowed nervously.

"You're an ass, Gaara. I'm _nice _to you, and you can't show me a _little _bit of kindness?" She rolled her eyes angrily, and turned away from him when he didn't answer. Her ears perked up when she heard the soft mutterings that followed.

"I don't think I even know how..."

**Author's Note: Admittedly, this isn't the most exciting cliff-hanger I've left you with. But, I'm figuring that the action- and gore-filled chapter will make up for that. :) Leave me some reviews, okay? :) I know it might have been disorientating for me to have put a reminder up as to where we were, but I just HAD to leave it that way. This way, you're just as disoriented as Kisame was feeling. Show me love- I updated, and you'd given up hope, huh? **

**PLEASE CHECK OUT MY OTHER FIC! It's called Misery's Minions. :) It's about vampires, but it's about soooo much more than that! It's not all fluffy like Twilight, though I did love the series. But, those are some wimpy vampires. If you're going to be a vampire, you have to _be _the animal. So I guess you could say I'm compensating for Meyers. :) Check it out please? **

**ALRIGHTIE! Welcome to the Voter's Corner, ladies and gentlemen! :D Who will the gang target next? And can you guess who will be moving over to their wing? :D BET YOU WON'T!!!**

**A)- **Will they target TenTen, the nasty bitch?

**B)- **Will they target Genma, because he's the perviest, horniest guy in the place?

**C)- **Or will they target Kabuto, the Orochimaru freak?

**It's up to you, folks! :D CHOOSE WISELY!!!!**

**Lauren/Mellokai**


	16. Can't Forget What I Don't Remember

Gaara slammed his fist into the desk, the number-2 pencil clutched in his grip snapping in the process. The spit-ball that had whizzed by his head was now splattered across Naruto's cheek. Another ball of paper shot by, and it rebounded off of Naruto's form before landing with stark precision upon his desk top. Gaara silently watched as Naruto's hand inched towards the paper, and Gaara silently begged him not to touch it, not to open it as he knew Naruto would .Gaara lowered his eyes, not wanting to see the look of surprise on Naruto's face as he read the ball-up note. When the crinkle of the note being opened didn't come, he looked up to see Naruto's hand hovering over the paper, his features contorted. He already knew what it said, even without opening it.

"Who's is it?" He murmured, almost as if he was asking himself. He stared at the ball of paper that he now clutched in his hands, staring so intently that Gaara thought the boy was trying to burn a hole in it with his eyes. Gaara almost flinched when Naruto stood up so fast that his chair was sent flying backwards, and even more surprised as the paper was ruthlessly flung at the blackboard. "Who threw that?!"

"Aww, Little Faggot's upset! I think _somebody _didn't suck enough dick last night!" A deep, male voice sneered from the front of the room. Gaara's stomach twisted angrily at the name, and he discreetly glanced over to Naruto. He was as angry now as he'd been at Kisame the day previous. Gaara didn't know what to think; he was rather confused as to where all of the suddenly harsh criticism towards Naruto was coming from. He didn't show it though. The emotions didn't know his face; he didn't know how to be anything other than stoic or negative. Gaara's brows tightened into a frown as Kakashi rose from his chair, his features just as livid as Naruto's.

"_That's enough._" His voice was stern, and he meant business. All the side-conversations in the room immediately ended, and it grew silent as they looked up to Kakashi, the sudden change in demeanor unsettling. Even when he was reprimanding, he had the same cool, aloof manner. Nothing had fazed him this way before. "Who threw it?"

"Did you read it?" That same voice again; this time it mocked. Gaara instantly recognized it as Kabuto, the signature sneer of condescension heavily strewn through the words. "Who's on top, Naruto? You or Sasuke? I bet he's on top, and you're the bitch! God knows y-"

"Kabuto! You can either get the hell out of my room, or apologize right now." Kakashi leaned in closely, and whispered in a deadly tone. "I suggest you apologize- because you don't want to know what's going to happen if you don't."

Kabuto laughed at Kakashi's livid expression, defiantly leaning his chair back on the legs. He turned slightly to smile at Naruto, the glare of the light making it impossible to see his eyes through the large, round spectacles. The knowing smile was what irked Gaara; how had he known? Sure, they're orientation had been in question, but no one had known for sure that they were together. Had it been the plan the night before? Sasuke hadn't even made it to class today, because he was still so agitated by the 'deed' that they'd done.

"Kabuto, shut the fuck up." Gaara sighed loftily. He was becoming distracted from his work, and the fact that it was upsetting him enough to care about what Naruto felt was getting to him. However, he didn't want to seem like he was sticking up for the guy. Which, sadly, is how it seemed- but then again, wasn't that true?

"You in on it, too?" Demanded Kabuto, his wide smile lengthening. Kakashi, interested more interested in Gaara's reaction, bit his angry tongue.

"Why don't you meet me later and _find out?_" Snarled Gaara, his electric-blue eyes crackling with his murderous intent.

"Guys, cut it out..." Genma started hesitantly, his oddly nervous demeanor catching Gaara's attention. Where was the boisterous boy from the previous weeks? Was it possible that he was honestly cured of his verbal outbursts?

"Shut _up_, Genma! You dickless li-" Kakashi's arm curled around Kabuto's upper-arm while he simultaneously kicked the chair out from underneath Kabuto.

"You _may _be in a mental institution, Kabuto, but you have _no _right to act this way." Kakashi leaned in, and whispered something that only Kabuto could hear, and then did a double-take when Kabuto burst into laughter.

"Yes! Do it! Do it! I'd _love _that!" Just as suddenly as the laughter started, it stopped, and Kakashi tugged irritably on the young man's arm. Kabuto turned to smile at Naruto as he was pulled away. Gaara couldn't shake the smile from his mind even after Kabuto had been taken away. The soulless, eerie smile was etched into his brain, and it left him with an unavoidable thought that made him itchy and restless. Is that what people saw when they looked at him? The smile was that of a I-Got-You-Good-And-I'm-Gonna-Get-You-Even-Better smile. He knew the smile all too well- because it was a smile that he could wear with the utmost honesty. He was always a goal-setter, and terrorizing was what he did best.

But, had the tables been turned? Gaara glanced over to Genma, easily catching the shiver that rippled through the boy. He might've been the only one to notice the change in the behaviour, but it was still just as unsettling. He had a growing suspicion that the tables had very well been turned- hell, they been flipped, rolled, and shattered. There didn't seem to be a strict set of morals anymore. It seemed everyone he knew had their own agendas- and if they were going to hurt people in the process, it would damned well happen.

* * *

Naruto set down his pencil, and looked around. The paper was supposed to take him all block, but he'd gotten it done in a relatively quick time-period. Kiba seemed to be struggling, though he was all the way across the room and there was no way for him to help. He tilts his chair back onto its legs, and tosses his empty soda can up and down, up and down.

The room is quiet, save for the occasional crinkle of his can, and about one or two conversations. Kiba was convincing Kallou to help him, and Genma was whispering something in earnest to Hidan. The latter of the conversations seemed more interesting. They were closer, but they were definitely being more quiet than Kiba. Naruto sighs and tilts back forward in his chair to the dull thwang! of metal hitting tile. Genma's head snaps over, but Naruto ignores the nervous features. Genma twists back to Hidan, and continues the conversation.

"Are you sure it was him?"

"As sure as I'm a fucking stud! That blonde-bitch found him tied to a table in the cafeteria this morning. Huh... I wonder which table it was... I don't think I wanna eat off a table where fish-breath was fucking decaying' on..." Hidan lowered his head as he thought about it, and Naruto repressed his smirk. Serves the bastard right- and he apparently wasn't even too well liked between his roommates. That was rather soothing, in an odd sort of way. '_At least he's not missed- not that anyone could miss that peace of shit.'_

"Do you wish to _share _your conver_-_s_ation_, Hidan?" Orochimaru hissed, his pale features consume with boredom.

"Sure," smiled Hidan. Kai's head popped up, and Naruto knew she was interested when she dropped her pencil to her desk. "Apparently fish-breath went and got himself killed, and after did their little deed they tied him to a table in the cafeteria. Maybe they're trying to-" Hidan took on an ominous tone,"_Tell us something." _

"What? Not to serve fish for lunch?" Snorted Kankuro.

Sakura made a big show of rolling her eyes as she scoffed. "You guys are a riot. Why the hell would anyone even waste their breath killing him? I mean... seriously. What a fucking _waste _of a Saturday night! I mean- why waste a dance?I mean, it's a _dance _not some 'butcher's ball.'"

Kai bit her lip, waiting as Hidan retorted, and Naruto could visibly see Gaara bristle. The thought of Kai talking didn't seem like a very good idea- as scared as she'd been the night before it sounded like an _awful _idea.

"You guys are retarded. I bet he's sick or something. I mean- come on! He was _fine _at the dance! Unless he suddenly decided to kick the bucket, the chances of him being dead are like, _impossible! _You're making a big deal out of this whole thing, but I'll bet my best work that he's just skipping." Naruto blinked, and looked over to Gaara who met his gaze. Gaara's brows rose and fell, which equated to the relevance of a shrug. Only Gaara could have such a small gesture mean so much.

"How would you guys know anyway?" Kallou said slowly, her accusing eyes darkened. The intonation was off, but the fact that she wasn't a verbose woman worked her words in her favor.

"Bastard wasn't in his room this morning. Him and Genma shared a room." Hidan chuckled, playfully punching Genma on the shoulder. "Bet you're glad he's gone, huh, man?

Gaara's eyes narrowed as Genma flinched slightly, his hands folding over his stomach. His stare bore into the anxious eyes of Genma, the questioning gaze causing the boy to shiver. Gaara was torn from his silent interrogation by the grating sound of Orochimaru's voice.

"Naruto, bring me your paper." Orochimaru ordered, holding out his hand. "I haven't see your pencil move in the past ten minutes."

Naruto grumbled ands got up from his desk, slowly walking up the isle. TenTen's foot was poised to trip him up, but she'd done it before, and he knew better. Her leg dashed out as he walked by, though he took great care to stomp on it. Orochimaru laughed as she cried out with pain. '_That'll serve you right, you pretentious little porker.'_

"If you're going to go for laughs, Ten, darling, do it properly, and don't be ashamed to laugh at yourself as well." The class snickered and Orochimaru's eyes caught TenTen's. "Because you _just _might make a fool of yourself."

TenTen lowered her head, and Orochimaru turned to Naruto, snatching the paper impatiently. "Hmm. Done? Very well. But, you missed six and thirty-two. Good job, Naruto."

Naruto lips tightened, and he nodded as he accepted the paper from the odd teacher. _'Whose side is he on? I mean... can he do that? He's gonna let me... get away with that?' _

Orochimaru frowned slightly, and sat back down at his desk with a sigh. "Ah, sometimes I wonder..." Naruto's ears quirked up at Orochimaru's slight soliloquy, then padded back to his seat when Orochimaru did not continue.

Sasuke was still back in the infirmary, too shaken up to leave his hospital bed. He'd had moments like this before, so technically it was nothing new. Naruto sighed again and rested his head on his arms. It was going to be a long, fucking day.

* * *

Kankuro hated this stool. He was one of the tallest guys there, and yet he managed to get the tiniest stool. he sent Deidara a withering glance before glaring at the chair. He'd had it all year, and yet his hate for it was just as fresh.

He picked up his paintbrush and then faltered, the blankness of the page uniquely jarring. It seemed to seize, and wiggle back and forth as if slapping his senses. He flinched when a speckle of red splattered to the page, and then another. They weren't even using paints yet... were they? He glanced around at all the others in their art class, his previous thought reaffirmed. No paint- red or not. He flinched slightly as another splotch of red splatted onto his page, and then looked up in the direction it was coming from. There was nothing there... not that _that _would explain anything. But, where was the paint coming from?

He gasped slightly when a droplet of the substance found its way to his neck. He furiously wiped it off, and looked at his hand. Sure enough it was red- but it didn't seem like paint. It was of a different feeling, not so thick as the paint, and sort of warm. He looked up again, sure that something had to be there. He wasn't as happy as he thought he'd be to find out that he was right this time. There was a red patch on the ceiling, and it looked to be spreading. He nervously looked to see if anyone else was staring, because he could feel the eyes. But, not a person noticed him- no one even looked at him.

He rolled his eyes, disgusted with his own insecurities, and set to work. He tried to wipe the red off, but ended up smearing it across the page, staining the page. He sighs, and tries to correct this by making the rest of the page the rusty brown color. He can feel the sticky droplets of what he now suspects to be blood, but he does his best to ignore them.

The droplets are fusing together on his neck now, sometimes landing on his head and rolling down the sides of it. He can feel the eyes now, but he's too scared to even look up. Fear was a funny thing. His heartbeat increased, the furious pounding screaming in his ears. He swallowed slowly, and looked up to see if it was still there- to see if hopefully he was just imagining it. But, oh, by God, it was there- and even worse than before.

A figure leaned out of the bloody patch, liquefied and oozing. It screeched then, a pale, rasping moan that chilled Kankuro's own blood. He gasped, and then shouted when its bloody, stubby limbs reached toward him, rapidly melting into drippy tendrils of hatred. The blood embraced the column of his neck in a sickeningly loving way before clamping down. The harsh motion was almost preferred to the frightening first motion.

'_I can't even... Oh, God- somebody help! Why are you just staring at me?! _Help_ dammit!'_ Kankuro couldn't even speak the pressure was so great. Gaara stared at him, the utter calm of his form sending striking emotions through Kankuro's psych. '_This thing's killing me- and you're just gonna stare?!' _

Just as suddenly as he'd gotten angry, he grew desperate. He could've kissed his brother when Gaara stood up and grabbed him by the shoulders. Gaara grabbed onto the dripping whips, and tried to pry them free but they held fast. Gaara was just as frustrated as Kankuro was desperate, and he yanked his brother to the floor. The tentacles stretched with a metallic screech that denied their shape, and Kankuro struggled with panic. His mind was centered on not dying.

It seemed just as the tentacles began to recede, Gaara changed sides and pinned him to the ground. '_What the FUCK? Gaara you sneaky bastard! I'll kill you-'_ Gaara rose a fist, and Kankuro immediately covered his face. He was too fatigued and out of breath to attempt a fight back. His eyes, clenched tight for the lack of wanting to see, nervously parted as he peaked at Gaara. Chest heaving, he peaked out from beneath his arms.

Gaara, haired mussed and cheek bruised, was staring down at him with an expression that Kankuro couldn't pin. Hell, he couldn't even remember how _Gaara _had gotten so roughed up- wasn't he the one who'd been strangled? '_Man. His neck- hell, his _face. _What the fuck is happening?! Oh shit- why's he looking at me like that? He's... what's he thinking?' _

He was better at reading his brother's features than guessing his thoughts. Gaara's jaw-set read the frustration and fatigue, and the set of the brows read anger. But, the eyes- those were different. The questioning look wasn't all that new, but the confusion, childish terror, and worry- that was what irked Kankuro. Wasn't he the one who was easy to read.

"Where-" _'Oh. We're in the same place....' "_OH... What did you, um, see?"

The confusion surfaced completely before just as suddenly snatching its head back into the shell. "I saw _you _freaking out like a fucking girl. What do you _think _I saw?"

"I- well how the _hell _am I supposed to know?" Kankuro snapped. He shoved at Gaara who still pinned him to the floor, but his brother did not budge. "Get off, or people're gonna you a fa-gay."

He was still getting used to the whole gay-friend thing, but he was almost sure that he'd never be completely comfortable with it. Gaara rolled his eyes- something Kankuro knew he hardly ever did- and easily sprung to his feet. "I'm not gay, and they know it. The day I start jackin' off to man is the day I'm castrated."

"But... You can't even-"

"_Exactly._" Smirked Gaara, extending his hand to his brother. Kankuro grunted as Gaara pulled him to his feet, and then wheezed as his battered lungs protested. Gaara glared at him, though it was a look Kankuro knew well. It wasn't so much a glare as an order that Kankuro would explain later. Gaara was not often bruised without repercussion.

Deidara immediately beckoned to him, and Kankuro faltered. Shit. He'd have to talk to a counselor now. He glanced over to Kai who mouthed 'relax', and pantomimed taking in a big breath. He nodded, and then grimaced.

"Kankuro!" What did Naruto want now?

"What?"

"Don't forget about my book! If you lose that, I'll be in trouble." Kankuro gave him a confused look, and Naruto sighed as if he was speaking to a five year old. "Remember? The one with the kid, and his mom died, and this other guy tries to be his dad, but that doesn't work, and then he finds out about his real dad and stuff?"

Kankuro nodded, completely unsure of the message Naruto was trying to get across. Who's mom and dad? Wha- oh. _'Naruto lost him mom and dad... and it was Kisame's fault... So... Don't talk? God. Does _no one _trust me?'_

* * *

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. '_God. Why the hell did I have to clean the one room that's got all the stuff I'm avoiding? _Stupid!_'_

Shikamaru had been hiding the box of books and unmentionables in the bottom of the closest, covered with a blanket and any other item that Shikamaru and Kiba never touched. That had prevented him from ever finding it. The emotions that those items brought to surface were always so painful- too painful. But, he'd been running for so long. At this point, all the efforts he went through to avoid them outweighed the effort it would take to get through it and deal with it. However, dealing with it would hurt so much more.

Shikamaru reached behind him, leaning away from the door he'd been leaning against, and locked it. With trembling hands he stepped towards the box, the corner of it sticking out from beneath the blanket. Just as suddenly nervous as he'd been, he was irritated with himself. '_Ha! It's a box- a box of full of _stuff. _It can't hurt me, save for a _paper cut._' _

With new resolve he yanked the box from the closet and just as roughly tossed it down on his bed. '_Yeah. I can do this... Let's get this over with...' _He thought to himself, taking a deep breath as he gripped the cardboard flaps. The abused material nearly separated from its larger self, and he wistfully regretted his roughness with the box.

The book awaited him, accompanied with the other doomed articles, at the bottom of the box. Shikamaru picked the box up, and unceremoniously dumped the contents onto the bed. His emotions were running wild now, but he recaged them and picked up the book that so often haunted his dreams. How could a book that hadn't even been read haunt someone's memories and thoughts? He narrowed his eyes and flipped it over to read the preface that he'd never dared to look at.

'_Two boys. Both spiraling downward into a place of drugs, sex, and wild rebellion. As they sink deeper and deeper into the pit, reality is lost, as well as a life. One is to be the killed by the hand of the other. Neither are killers, but both are my sons.' _

Shikamaru felt like he'd been punched in the gut by his mother. This was comparable to how he'd felt when she found- no! He wouldn't think about that. Mrs. Akamichi had been like a mother, but... he was like her son as well? How the _hell _had that happened? Could she really have felt that? He pushed the thought away and turned the book over and idly flipped through the pages.

It was now or never. Technically there was _always _later, but he couldn't bear to put it off any longer. The waiting was hard, but no knowing was even worse.

* * *

Kiba hummed to himself, the rough gravely sounds reminding him of his mother's own raspy voice. He sighs aloud and lifts himself from the couch, wandering over to his door. The need to pee is heavily upon him now, and there is no putting it off. He hastily tugs on the doorknob, growling when it does not yield.

"Hey! Shikamaru, open the damn door! I need to piss! Open the door already!"

"I'm jerkin' off! Go away!" Shikamaru replied rudely. Kiba frowned, duly noting the increased need to pee as well as the lie in Shikamaru's tone. He was a good liar, but his voice sounded off. He wasn't jerking off, he was... crying. Kiba winced, knowing full well that he didn't want to deal with that- not with him, or any other man. It just wasn't his thing.

"Kallou! I'm using your bathroom- I gotta pee!" He announced loudly, jogging over the door to Kallou's shared room. His loud knocks were frantic, and as he danced back and forth he could hear movement inside.

Sakura answered the door, a skeptical expression crossing her board features. "No."

"Huh? What do you mean no? I. Gotta. Go!"

"Then go. Just not here. I don't need you peeing all over the seat, and making a mess in there." Sakura's tone was icy and low.

'_Somebody's been spending _way _too much time with Gaara. I'm going to start calling you two the monotwones.' _He produced a whining sound, and whimpered as he hopped from foot to foot. Craning his neck to see if Kallou was in there, he nearly tripped over his feet.

"Sakura, let him in. If he pisses on the floor, _you're _cleaning it up." Ordered Kallou without looking up from her book. Kiba was delighted to see the break in Sakura's act, and the arch of her tone as he shoved himself insde.

"How is it my fault if the dumbass doesn't go to the bathroom before he nearly pees himself? He's a big boy- damn, Kallou. I never would've thought you'd kiss a diaper-baby." This earned a loud shout of protest from Kiba, and Sakura smiled. Mission accomplished. That was her goal for the day; Gaara would be pleased.

* * *

"I hear that somethign happened to you in art today." Tsunade began, her hands folded professionally in her lap.

"Hn." Kankuro grunted, his eyes darkening.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Tsunade was casual with this, though Kankuro immediately detested the way she rose her brows in expectation, as though she knew he'd talk.

'_Yes!' _"No." Kankuro folded his arms defiantly and stared at the floor, avoiding her gaze so she couldn't read him like she read everyone else. He was no book, dammit.

"Are you sure?" When this tactic didn't work, she leaned forward and whispered seductively. "I hate you tell you this, but it's mandatory for you to talk to me. You see, if you _don't _talk to me, you're going to be assigned inner-solitary."

Kankuro's ears quirked at the new form of punishment, and he looked up quickly, the statement catching him off-guard. "What's that?"

"It's like regular solitary." Tsunade said nonchalantly, pausing to take a sip of her bourbon. "You go in this little room, all the way out in the old building, and they keep ya there for... what was it? Two, three days?"

"Hn. That's no bi-"

"Ah, but you interrupted me." Smiled Tsunade, taking a leisurely sip. Kankuro fidgeted impatiently and she continued. "You see, you're out there on your own, without food or drink, in a little black hole. You don't know _what _time it is!" Tsunade giggled, and set down her cup.

"You can't do that! It's illegal." Scoffed Kankuro, his shoulders relaxing.

"Is it?" Tsunade pouted. "Oh, dear... Well, I guess we can always try electroshock... Hmm. I'll have to ask patients what they prefer, now. Thank you Kankuro!" Kankuro's features contorted, and she giggled harder. "Jesus, boy! I'm just shitting with ya! You should _see _your face right now!"

When he at last settled back into the chair with ease, she took another sip. The minutes ticked by, and he slouched with boredom. Just as his eyes began to droop she started talked to him again.

"you know, I don't get how you do it. So stoic and kept together... Why don't you or Gaara ever talk to us? What are you hiding?"

Kankuro hummed slightly and shrugged his shoulders. "Pardon?"

"We're not _'hiding', _we just haven't got anything to say." Kankuro growled, his anger spiking up. '_Hiding? How the _hell _am I hiding!?' _

"Hmm. Well, then why haven't you had anything to say in any of the sessions for all the times you've been in here? Surely after a few years you've thought up _something _to say!''

"Surely after all these years I've _run out _of things to say, you drunk bitch." Snapped Kankuro, rubbing his face aggitatedly.

"Bitch I may be, drunk I am not!" Laughed Tsunade, patting her belly. "Iron stomach; I've drunk my way out of many arguments. I tell you what, I'll give you a shot for every direct answer you give me. I understand you and your brother have quite the little tongues, if you catch my drift."

Kankuro shifted uncomfortably, knowing full-well that if he got too drunk he'd spill the beans. But... he wanted a drink so badly...

"What'sa matter? Ya _scared_?" Challenged Tsunade, her finger slipping around the lip of her glass.

"...No."

"So why won't'cha give it a go? _One_ won't kill you, will it?" When Kankuro looked away, she giggled. "See? You are scar-"

"I _am. Not!" _Kankuro snapped, his lip curling into a sneer.

"Then do it." Tsunade got up and wandered over the cabinet at the right of her office, and pulled down a bottle. She opened a cabinet door, and pulled out a shot glass, and wandered back to her desk. "One for one. A secret for a shot."

"What do you want?" Asked Kankuro, eyeing the wine carefully. His father had always had wine on hand, and he and his brother had developed a taste for it- specifically for wine and champagne. Hard liquor was for getting drunk, not enjoying. Who said a murderer couldn't be tasteful?

"Start at the beginning. I'll give you one to get you started. It's only a shot, but it's a taste."

"Alright... Well, we went to art, and I got my paper, and then.. I put my head down..." Kankuro brought the shot of wine closer to him, and swirled the liquid inside of it. He smiled hesitantly as he inhaled the earthy aroma before taking the whole of the shot into his mouth. Such a small amount of wine had never been so satisfying.

He could dimly see Tsunade frown as his mind started to close off his bodily actions and his memories took over. "Kankuro? Are you all right? Talk to me!"

"I'm fine... I'm just... Take this." He handed her the shot and leaned back into the chair. "It's... I- I'm at my house... in..."

"Go ahead, Kankuro. Let the memory take over. But, you have to keep talking to me. _Keep talking to me, Kankuro." _

_'Keep talking to me Kankuro.' _It was like a mantra in his mind, repeating over and over. He didn't remember where her words ended and his own began, but that same phrase kept sounding off in his mind. Keep talking. Alright. He could do that. He hoped- he didn't know if he was talking or not, but he hoped he was. Depending on the memory that was regurgitating itself into his brain, he could talk openly and freely.

The black was fizzling at the corners, bubbling and popping as he was catapulted further back into his mind."Where are you?"

The cellar. He knew this place well; the dank, musty smell of the cellar had never fully left him. The dark of solitary was preferred to the eerie half-lighting down here. The shadows in the corners of the room taunted him. stretching and morphing. Kankuro shivers, because he can actually feel the cold and smell the musk again. The dust swirled in thick pockets beneath the lights, the viscous particles attacking the air with each movement he made.

'_The cellar. The cellar. Oh, god, I hate you! You bitch! You brought me back here! What the fuck is wrong with you?! Don't you know what hap-' _

"Kankuro! Why'd you stop?"

Why had he stopped talking? a funny question. Didn't she know that the cellar was where it lived? Where it fucking _thrived? _Kankuro moans, and huddles closer to the door, leaning away from the shadows. '_They're not real! They're _not _real.' _

The wine racks were close to him, the smooth feeling of the glass only inches away. His hand curled around the neck of one, and he pulled it close to his chest in a protective hug that only an eight year old could muster. He missed his older, stronger body. This lacking excuse of a child's body denied his wishes of conquering the beast of that cellar that lived in his nightmares and dwelled in the shadows.

"Kankuro? What's not real?"

Did she _ever _stop asking questions? '_The... It doesnt' have a name! All I know is that it always came after me and Gaara whenever we got locked down here...' _

"You were locked down here?"

_'You're surprised? Of course we were.' _The door rattled, and Kankuro squealed like a little pig. He scurried away from it, forgetting the bottle in his hands. It fell to the floor in a shallow, quick arc that left it to splinter into a hundred little pieces of glass. Kankuro watched blankly as they bounced and scatted across the floor. He was still moving, numbly avoiding the door that roughly jerked open. The glass that cut viscously into his palms wasn't felt, at least not in this moment.

Kankuro blocked out her voice, focusing on the face of the man who shoved the other little boy into the cellar. They were partners in crime- he knew that- but the little boy didn't. They still hated each other at the time of the flashback. The electric blue eyes glared into his own before briefly scattering over his body. Another shove sent the boy sprawling into the glass and wine.

Kankuro's uncle looked down at the spilled wine, and snorted. "Getting drunk ain't gonna help you, ya' unlucky little bastard. If you come with me, then I ca-"

"No! I'd rather _rot _down here then go _anywhere _with you!" Kankuro's snarl of hatred brought a smile of satisfaction to the older man's face, and with a low chuckle he slammed the door shut. "See you tomorrow, Kankuro!"

Kankuro could feel a ghostly hand on his shoulder flinch at the stream of swear-words that left his mouth, but he didn't care. He couldn't stop himself anyway. It had already happened to him, he was just re-experiencing it. The monster in the shadows groped and reached for him as the pain and fear overcame the hatred that billowed up so briefly. He tried to hold onto the powerful angry feeling, but it ebbed away quicker than he would have liked. He couldn't even stay mad. What was _wrong _with him?

The taste of wine and blood came back to him, and he licked his lips hesitantly. A faint womanly voice droned in the back of his mind, but he disowned the foreign speaker. Who the hell was she, anyway? As he used the nail of his thumb to push the little pieces of glass out of his finger, he sucked the blood from his lip. The taste was metallic and heavy. He liked the taste of his own blood.

His red-haired accomplice bowed his head, staring at his bloodied knees in wonderment. It was amazing how his body could lose its blood without taking visible notice of it. It just sealed off the wound and focused on the rest of the body. The pain didn't go unnoticed, but it wasn't completely unpleasant. Kankuro knew that they had both experienced much worse.

Kankuro sniffed the substance on the floor, remembering in the present how he hadn't know what it was at the time. "What the hell is this stuff anyway?"

Boy-Gaara shrugs, and brushes off his knees before getting up and walking over to the rack to get one. "_Mer_- Lot."

"Um. No, I think it's Mer-low. I mean, it's spelled mer-lot, but it's said the other way. I heard Temari talking to one of her friends about it. They snuck one up to their room two days ago, and they were drinking it. What's it taste like?"

Boy-Gaara shrugged again, and tugged on the cork. Kankuro can vaguely hear himself asking Gaara if he needed help, but Gaara refuses with a snarl and a viscious quip that he can't recall. Temari's voice is calling him back, and he can feel the cellar fading. He welcomed the change, greedily sucking the light of her office back into his senses. His vision was a mass of bright, sparkly lights, but he didn't mind. As the lights seemed to fade, his eyes adjusted.

He sat up, leaning away from the back of the leather recliner. It was covered in his own sweat, and a patch of what looked to be fresh vomit. "What... What happened? I mean...Those keep happening to me, but I don't... Are they flashbacks?

Tsunade stared at him, completely caught off-guard by how quickly he'd snapped out of it. "Wha- yeah! How- they happen that often that you just drift back right into reality?"

"Not all the time... You kinda pulled me out of it. Your voice did, actually. I didn't have many... um, ... female?- friends back then. I-"

"Kankuro, you don't have to go into detail today. But, I would like to have one-on-one sessions with you and your brother. I believe that I can help you- if you want- to control these flashbacks. You don't have to tell Gaara if you don't think he'll handle it well, but I would like you to give him some sort of heads up. You're both going to come see me regularly. You _can _control these. It's just a matter of learning to do it. You can go back your room now."

Kankuro rose shakily to his feet, and ran a hand through his hair. "Um... So, does this mean I'm not helpless or something?"

"No, Kankuro. I believe that you can completely overcome these. Once you learn to differentiate between reality and these nightmares, and flashbacks- whatever they were and are- you can learn to function more successfully."

Kankuro couldn't repress the half-smile that came to his lips, pleased with the news that he might have some hope of getting out of this place before he died. The idea seemed trivial and hopeless at this point, but who knows. Maybe someday.... Someday.

**Author's Note- So. Not too long, I know. but interesting, no? So- if you're unsure of what happened to Kankuro, the taste of wine threw him into a flashback, but Tsunade was able to partially guide him through it. I HAVE A PLAN FOR THIS. I will not be swayed. If you don't like flashbacks, don't think of these that way. They will be more active, and Tsunade will teach them to change their actions in the flashbacks, and to react better and differently, so on so forth. :) MUAHAHA. **

**VOTER'S CORNER! **

**A- The flashbacks will play a large part. Explain them now. (Will be more straightforward, though will make the plot-twists a little bit more expected.)**

**B- Explain flashback slowly, and leave it as a mystery to be unraveled. (Could be confusing for some)**

**C-Explore Shikamaru's past. Involves a deep self-loathing on his part. Oh the average emotions of an accidental killer! **

**D- Send me death threats for not killing Kabuto quickly enough. **

**(PLEASE GIVE TIME FOR KABUTO TO DIE. It needs to be cohesive and planned out. :) We can't kill all willy-nilly now can I? NO! We need SOME sort of order. We're killers, not hormonal morons. **

**Please, give me time. I know I'm not updating as regularly as you'd like, but I DO have a life. :P Skewl, theatre, singing, friends, drama, FUN times... It's all hard to fit in. :( Plus I'm suffering MILDLY from SAD. FUCK WINTER! WHERE'S THE DAMN SUN!?!?!! **

**Huggles and kisses from your ever-appreciative writer! **

**MELLOKAI! **

**P.S.- Sorry for not replying to any/all reviews :( been busy. I blame life. ALSO! If there isn't enough Gaasaku for you, PLEASE don't tell me every chapter. I KNOW. I'm working on it. It has to be real though, and yes, I'll admit, I got carried away with the others. Give me a bit of time, kay? :) ALSO! I'm looking for new ideas. Got some? Tell me! :D **


	17. A Less Than Polite Reply

I understand that I haven't been replying to reviews lately, but this one really irked me. She's too scared to reply with her REAL account, so I can't reply directly to her. All of my readers- you know that I appreciate your reviews, really I do. But, I felt that i had to let all of you see my official answer to her comments. I'm not going to bother to be nice to someone who isn't giving criticism. She's being nasty, out and out.

"Jasmine" wrote:

_So I read the story and it was interesting at first but then it just got twisted in a way I didn't like. Where is the GaaSaku like you promised. Why is it mostly KankyKai. I understand that it's ur oc and all but why didn't you put that as the main pairing if you were going to center the story around it instead of saying its something its not. If someone was abused they wouldn't be up for killing someone and why is your character always going back to Kankuro like he's her knight. Kankuro in my opinion wouldn't like Kai. I understand that's how you want it and all but Kai is to awkward. She is magically every and doing everything. I have read other stories wil Kallou in it and in your story she is to soft. In my opinion she wouldn't be dumb enough to be pushed down a well in the first place. I mean seriously who would be like hey let's walk near this well with some person who is really mental and could change moods really fast. I wouldn't be dumb enough to do it so why would Kallou. I think you need to take your time and change your story to make it more GaaSaku or change the pairing in general because it's no longer what you said it was._

____

"lil j" wrote:

_yes why is sakura being so OOC? And then why is Kai acting like a lil lamb when I read in the other chapters that she was kind of out of it? Then you have the ones who were abuse acting like killers. If they were abuse don't you think that they wouldn't want to hurt anyone cause they know how it feels and Kai is being every where at once like she miss perfect with she can become any ones friend and Kankuro is to hot for her lil troll butt, and there more kankkai then the rest I only read this cause it said gaarasaku but then it got a lil intresting with the others untill that troll started in you really need to clam down with her_

**So, "Jasmine", or whoever the hell you are (I have an insistent niggling that you and "lil j" are the same person, I see that you've got a problem with my story. Or more directly, you have a problem with one of my own characters. There is Gaasaku, you're just impatient. Why is there more KankyKAi? Because GOD forgive me I wanted it. Have you ever heard of subplots? That Kankuro wouldn't like my character is your opinion, and as much as I appreciate your opinion it will in no way affect what I write. My character is by no means perfect, and I am well aware of how annoying she is. I don't make her perfect; hell I don't change anything about her. She is who I am, and she does what I would do. What more do you want? I'm not a social outcast- I HAVE a life. I know how to have friends, as well as maintain and entertain them. Just to let you know, I am not a dork, nor a goth, nor any of the stereotypical expected type. No, I bet you're just looking to tear my story down. Girl, what you know about psychology I can put in the palm of my hand. A lot times people who have been abused are more likely to abuse others. Did you know that some studies show that men who are molested as children are more likely to abuse when they grow up? Did you know that Kallou outright LAUGHED when she saw that you wrote she was too soft? Every single move that her character made was orchestrated by her. Also, the fact that you aren't dumb enough to fall for has nothing to do with what Kallou would do. The whole well ordeal was completely her idea. I do not need to take time to rearrange my story for the likes of you. I never said that Gaasaku was the main pairing, that is just the pairing I decided to put in the description. Shoot me for being selective. I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you? ****-Lauren/Mellokai**

**Sakura, being out of character? Oh SHIT! Stop the fucking press! She's not exactly sane anymore, hon. What do you want me to have her do? They can't keep her if she's all better, can they? Again- many people who are abused often abuse others. Does every single person who was abused do this? No! Some people are emotionally lost, commit suicide, and those types of things. But in this case, I am working the angles to my advantage. Kai is everywhere? That could actually be an error, which I will try to resolve. I am in her head, and I know what she feels, so I am naturally going to be inclined to add more thoughts of hers in. Perfect? Ask any reader/reviewer- by no means have I ever said my character is perfect. I have actually tested her- honest to god- for being a Mary Sue. I'm "attached to my character, but she's her own person". I'm a troll? Well hon, that makes you a nasty little wart on the bottom of foot. How's it feel down there? -Lauren/Mellokai**

**I would've taken your review(s) much more seriously if you actually wrote like you were old enough to understand what relationships are. How old are you? Thirteen? I may only be fifteen, but I am obviously more of an adult than you've come to _try _to be. Next time your going to submit criticism that is less than positive, you might want to take certain duties aboard. Express your thoughts clearly, SPELL CHECK, and make sure your writing has no errors. As much as you've irritated, you give me good grounds for new material. **

Voter's Corner!

Did you find this as amusing as I did? I know it's not a real chapter, but YES! there WILL BE voting!

A- Create an OC for this _idiot _and murder her off. :)

B- Send Kai off to solitary for being such a naughty little girl.

C- Leave her well enough alone, though cut back slightly. (I honestly do apologize for putting her in there so much, but I'm not writing entirely for my audience. I do want to get something out of it.)

D

ALSO! Do you have ideas, or questions? This is a free for all- you can ask me anything you want, even if it isn't exactly related to the story.

Is anyone interested in having a cameo, or making a short appearance? Let me know, and I'll send you the OC form. Fill it out- PLEASE be as detailed as you possibly can. More information is better than less. Be sure to give some sort of hint to your person's mental disability. We could also have nurses, if you'd like. Sasusaku-kun is already scheduled to make an appearance, though I've taken my damn time in doing so. To be honest, I'm sorry to say that I forgot. ANYWAY!

ANY comments, questions, and criticism would be appreciated. But please, if you're going to be negative, be cordial and proper.

To my haters! WOOT! (Finally got my first real hater!!) If you're going to make your job being my hater, then you've chosen a wise carreer. I'm writing for the rest of my life, and you're got a long-time occupation! Yay for being wise in this economical day and age! :D

Lauren/Mellokai!


	18. High and Dry

**Author's Note: Sorry for not posting. :P NO INSPIRATION! :) But noww I've finished a chapter, so let's see where it takes me. :) I think you'll like it, haha. So read, and PLEASE review as quick as you can- I'm going to need the reviews - trust me! :) Reviews are sex - and inspiration! :) **

"What the _Hell _did you do?" Gaara snarled, jumping up from the floor to tackle Kankuro. His hands sought his brother's neck, scrabbling for a hold. Sakura was amazed by the strength he possessed; it was inconceivable that such an underweight man should have such strength. He was smaller than Kankuro, yet he easily overpowered him.

"I'm giving- you- a-" Kankuro's airway was closed off, effectively rendering him speechless. Sakura frowned, seeing what looked to be an error in Gaara's interrogation. How the heck did he expect to get answers if the guy couldn't speak? Sakura was more irritated than anything; Kankuro had ruined a perfectly good moment between her and Gaara. He'd been about to kiss her, and then in waltz Kankuro with his news of some "private sessions."

Sounded like a loud of bullshit if you asked her; what purpose did seeing them alone serve? All it did was take Gaara away from her, and she didn't appreciate that.

Sakura was about to intervene on Kankuro behalf, finally worried enough about him to speak up. His face was red, and he was trembling, whereas he'd been lying still before. No soon had her lips parted that Gaara relented, his hands easing just slightly enough to allow airflow. He didn't lift his hands, but instead watched as his brother gasped for breath. His half-lidded eyes fluttered as he flirted with unconsciousness.

"What did you do?" Gaara whispered, leaning closer to his brother. His lips were a mere inch from Kankuro's ear, and Sakura repressed the sight of him nibbling slightly. Not only was the thought odd, considering their lineage, but she'd never thought of men doing that. (**A/N: NOT A SHIPPER OF SANDCEST! But, Sakura could be.:) ) **She mentally reminded herself to smack Naruto later for implanting the notion of "male activities."

Gaara actually growled when Kankuro let began to mumble in tired, soft whispers that were intelligible. With a swift knee to Kankuro's crotch, he asked the question again. "What the _Hell _did you do? _Exactly?_"

"She gave me a tiny little-" Kankuro took a squeaky breath, and continued. "Shot of wine, and- and-"

"Come on!" Snapped Gaara, baring his teeth. Sakura furrowed her brows as she watched Kankuro convulse slightly. Apparently Gaara was a biter as well. Sakura leaned on her arm, watching the two of them with mild interest. The hazy fog that she'd been admitted with was trying to come back. She'd noticed a few days previous, when they'd been performing their little 'operation' on Kisame. Whenever she started feeling the strong emotions, her brain would start to faze over. Big emotions reminded her of Sai, and thoughts of Sai made her brain fuzzy. Sakura pushed the thoughts aside and focused on Gaara, and the pallor of Gaara's skin.

"I had a flashback, okay? She walked me through it somehow, and... I'm sorry, okay?" Kankuro's breathing was still rapid, even though by now he'd more than caught his breath. "I didn't mean to, and I wasn't thinking-"

"_What?_ Why'd she give you wine?" Gaara's face was now level with Kankuro's. He was centimeters away, staring intently into his brother's eyes. He was too close for Kankuro to avoid his gaze. As he stared him down, Sakura inwardly flinched. As much as the position appealed to her, she was glad she wasn't Kankuro. That wasn't the kind of look she expected him to be giving her.

"For every answer I gave her, she'd give me a little shot. All I had to do was tell her why I freak out! That's all! I wouldn't have told her anything else!" Kankuro rushed to defend, carrying on when Gaara didn't start choking him again. "I figured you'd rather me tell you than let her surprise you with it. I figured this would be better than dealing with you afterwards. You deserve to know."

A small smile came to Gaara's lips, and he slowly shook his head left to right. Kankuro flinched and squeezed his eyes shut, expecting a blow to the face. "You're right." Kankuro's eyes were wide open now, shocked at his brother's admittance. "I would've killed you." Gaara cupped his brother's cheek for a moment before patting him affectionately. He rolled off of his brother in one fluid motion and snapped to his feet just as smoothly.

Kankuro didn't move, his body frozen in place. Gaara disappeared to his room with six long strides, shutting the door silently behind him. Sakura rose to her feet, and walked over to where he was pulling himself into a sitting position. She squatted down to his level, and cleared her throat. Kankuro looked up at her with an embarrassed scowl, and she almost regretted what she was about to do.

The sound of her slapping him was loud, even to her. Her palm and fingers stung from the impact, though the red mark blooming on his skin more than made up for it. "You asshole. He was gonna _kiss _me! Our first _real _kiss, and you ruined it!"

With a gruff kick to his side, she stomped off to her room, leaving him to bewilderedly collect his thoughts. Gaara kiss? The thought that his brother would _ever _have a romantic agenda never crossed his mind. Kankuro shivered; he never wanted to think about his brother in the buff, getting it on with some chick. It wasn't thinking about his brother that made him sick, it was thinking about men. He'd had enough experiences to last him three lifetimes. As he picked himself up and dusted himself off he wondered to himself if that was why Gaara was so apprehensive with Sakura. Yashamaru had abused him more physically than anything, but Gaara... Yashamaru had fucked his mind.

* * *

"Naruto?" Sasuke lifted his head from the pillow, a soft smile gracing his lips. "Why'd you come- I told you I'd be back later."

"Well, I missed you, and I just _really _needed to get away." Naruto sat down on the edge of Sasuke's bed. Sasuke shifted his legs to make room for him. "It's like a madhouse- ha! Wait, wait, let me rephrase. Okay, fuck it- it's a _madhouse _in there. Gaara and Kankuro were rolling around and wrestling- _not _that it turns me on, 'cuz it doesn't- but they were seriously fighting. Then, Gaara just gets up and goes to his room. They didn't know I was watching, but sometimes... I wonder about those two, ya know?"

Sasuke nods, and sits up. "I'm sorry I'm not there to take your mind off shit. But, knowing you, that's not all that's bugging you. What's wrong Mister-Easy-Going?"

Naruto smiled at Sasuke's willingness to listen, and paused. "Man. We're total fags." He laughed, and changed his voice to the stereotypical 'gay' voice. "Why don't we ever talk! Listen to my _emotions! _It's always sex with you!" Sasuke let out a loud guffaw of laughter, and Naruto smiled victoriously. "Gotcha! You laughed, for like... the first time ever, really."

"What- did you seriously think I have no sense of humor? I'm not _that _apathetic. I've been told I have an... off-kilter sense of humor. It makes not laughing preferable. People stare, and it bugs me. So I am blank." Sasuke waved his hands in front of his face like a magician, and Naruto smiled. "So, what's your trauma? Spill."

"Everyone. Kiba and Kai- I swear to _fuck_-"

"Language, Naruto!" Warned the orderly, and Naruto blushed sheepishly. "Sorry,Immy. I didn't mean to... disturb the ward." Even the Infirmary was completely empty, Immy demanded the obedience and adherence to the rules. Sasuke smiled wryly and motioned for him to continue. "Kiba and Kai are so loud it's giving me like,a perma-headache. I swear to god- if everyone in the world talked as loud as they did we'd all be _deaf._ Sakura and Gaara are sneaking around like creepers, Kankuro is moody again, and Shikamaru has holed himself up in his and Kiba's room. Kiba's been sleeping on the couch, and that pisses Kankuro off, 'cuz he sleeps on the couch. Of course, it doesn't matter that the couch is 'L' shaped- the greedy bastard wants it all to himself."

Naruto sighed, and pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes, and shook his head. "I don't know why it bothers me, but I... I need a break from them. I'ma get myself in the hole; I gotta get away from them."

"Why don't you just ask Tsunade tomorrow? If it's gonna help you she'll prolly let you go." Sasuke shrugged and spread his hands wide. "Worse comes to worse, I can bash your head in so you can hang out here."

Naruto smiles widely before punching Sasuke on the shoulder. "You'd like to kick my ass, huh? Maybe later we can just beat the shit out of each other so we both get holed up in here."

"That's not the only thing I'd like to do with your ass." Sasuke joked, waggling his brows in a totally uncharacteristic manner.

"Damn. They must have some good drugs down here. You're awful playful today." Naruto rose a brow when Sasuke laughed again.

"You have _no _idea. I'm surprised Shikamaru doesn't land himself in here more often."

* * *

Goddamn he was high. He was surprised he hadn't passed out yet. Shikamaru was riding on a black horse of hazed relief brought on by the large numbers of pills that he'd ingested.

He'd finished the book, and in a way he wished he hadn't. The years of regret had been for nothing; he'd always feel regret, but she'd forgiven him nearly six months before she wrote the book. If he'd only read the damned book one of the first ten times she'd begged him to, it would've made things so much better for him. He'd wasted nearly six years of his life grieving when he could've just grown a backbone and learned from it.

The buzz of the pills was finally working over him, sending him into the pit of hazed darkness that he so craved. His last thought before he slipped under was of Chouji, and how bad he missed the boy that'd been like a brother. He missed him terribly, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Chouji was close to him somehow. He was certainly dead, but he wasn't too far away. With that odd reassurance he succumbed to the lethal cocktail of pills. It was nice to truly give in for a while.

* * *

It was Kiba who'd found him passed out on the white tile floor in the bathroom. His pulse had been faint, but he'd still been alive. Tsunade was so worried about Shikamaru that she actually came down to see him herself.

Everyone was questioned, but it was brutally apparent that he'd locked himself in there. They didn't find his stash, but Tsunade didn't make them look very hard for it. She stood and watched as he was strapped to a stretcher and wheeled away, his black hair sticking up so cutely that she almost wished she had kids of her own.

Tsunade walked back to her office, and sat there for the next two hours. She didn't work on anything; didn't even move. She just sat there staring at the book in her hands. It'd been working so well; what the heck had happened? She'd read the book, and she knew that had forgiven Shikamaru for getting her son involved in the drugs that led to his demise, but why hadn't it affected Shikamaru more positively?

Tsunade sighed, and threw the book on her desk. She was beginning to wonder if she'd ever truly understand her patients. She pinched the bridge of her nose, fixing a deadly scowl upon her deceitful features. It was times like this that made her question everything she knew about the human psyche, and made her wonder what the hell she'd chosen this job for. It seemed that as of late everything was going wrong, and she was missing all of the little things that made the job worth it. Times like this made the little things seem wonderful, and the big shit-hole of a mess she was in that much more terrible.

* * *

Naruto couldn't believe how somber the mood was when he got back. He hadn't exactly been expecting a wildly exciting greeting, but the dead atmosphere caught him totally off-guard.

"Hey, you guys, what's going on?" He asked loudly, his lone voice echoing off the walls of the silent room. It seemed that instantly he was greeted with a heavy barrage of glares and dirty looks. Naruto winced, and scratched the back of his head. "Wha-"

"Where the _hell _have you been, jack-ass?" Kiba snapped, a low growl rumbling in his throat. Naruto gulped slightly, completely unsure of what to do. "You wander off all fuckin' La-Di-Freikin'-Da while shit's going to pieces!"

"What shit? I don't know what the fuck you guys are talking about!" Naruto replied meekly. He rubbed his face in vigorous circles, trying to physically initiate some part of his brain. It didn't work.

"Oh my fucking god." Kiba snorted a disdainful little chuckle of disbelief and shook his head. "They didn't tell him."

Naruto's mouth opened in confusion, and his eyebrows drew together in confusion. He cocked his head to the side as if ready to ask a question, and then he paused. Someone was missing. He could see Sakura and Gaara, Kankuro, Kiba and Kallou, and... There were two missing. Where was Shikamaru? Kai... well, her missing was normal. She ran off on her own as it was. "What happened? I don't like guessing games. They make my head hurt..."

"Shikamaru Oh-deed." Kai whispered from the doorway to her room. In all honesty, it was regular volume for most, but for her it equated to a whisper. Naruto faltered for a moment as the news settled in. Shikamaru had... Overdosed?

"No, no, no! He'd never do that! He _knows _just how much to take! He's-he's Shikamaru! He wouldn't- hell, he _couldn't _overdose! Do you know how much he would have to take?" Naruto's pulse surged as they didn't move, didn't even speak. Didn't they care? How could they be so... apathetic? "Don't just sit there! Shikamaru freakin'- oh... Wait a second!"

Naruto giggled, and Kankuro made a confused face.

"You're playing a prank on me, aren't you?" Naruto jogged over to Shikamaru's door, and wrenched it wide. "Shika! Shika? Where are you, buddy? When I find you I swear to God and all that is Holy I'm going to kill you!"

Naruto rooted around the room, tearing everything apart in his effort to find Shikamaru. He spent a long time pawing through all of Kiba's and Shikamaru's belongings. When at long last he realized that Shikamaru wasn't there, he sank down onto one of the beds. "Oh..."

Kiba stood in the doorway, leaning in a casual stance against the frame as he watched Naruto. His stance betrayed his emotions, though. He actually felt bad for Naruto now, and not entirely sure how to handle it. He didn't for a moment, and the two of them shared silence for a little while. "You're probably going to have to get out of here, man. There's only two beds, and... I don't think it's right for you to sleep in Shikamaru's. Hell, I don't even want to sleep in here..."

Naruto nodded, and dragged himself to his feet. It didn't seem fair. He wanted to ask if Shikamaru would be okay, but he couldn't get his mouth to work. There was a slight niggling of hope that Shikamaru was hiding in one of the other rooms, but he knew that it wasn't so. His mind and body seemed to be dragging further and further behind. He was walking out of the room and sitting down at the couch, but he could still see Shikamaru's room, and feel the cheap mattress beneath him. He didn't even notice as people slowly drifted off together and spoke for a while.

It was good that he didn't notice. It felt nice to not feel anything at all. He didn't want to feel what was around the bend. It was going to hurt; going to hurt more than anything he remembered. He'd gained a good friend, and the worry that that friend wouldn't make it back hurt more than anything he could remember. All he could do now was hope to high Hell that Shikamaru didn't die.

* * *

"Hey! Get outta here, you creep!" Sakura giggled, sending Gaara a mock glare. He rolled his eyes and silently shut the door behind him. "You're really not supposed to be in here! What if Kallou-"

"Her and Kiba are... busy." Gaara said with a slight smirk. Sakura covered her mouth and giggled her disbelief. Gaara plopped down next to her, sending a ripple through the thin mattress. He stared at the spot of blood on the comforter and wrinkled his nose in distaste. She knew what he was thinking, and she couldn't have been more mortified.

"Gaara, it was a nosebleed!" She professed anxiously. "See?" She flipped her pillow over to reveal the large red splotch. Gaara nodded ever so slightly, his eyes never leaving the crimson patch. Sakura watched him staring at the pillow, unsure of whether to flip the pillow over or humour him and let him stare at it. She waited another thirty seconds before hastily flipping it over and plopping it back into place. Gaara continued to stare for another moment or so before he looked up at Sakura's blushing face.

He didn't speak, but he was smiling a little bit. "What?" Sakura asked hesitantly, her brows drawing together in slight alarm. She leaned back a little bit as he leaned closer, his breath fanning across her face and down her slender neck. His breath didn't smell like toothpaste per say, but it had an oddly pleasant smell to it.

"I thought maybe we'd continue where we..." He leaned closer, his nose brushing against her blood-laden cheeks. Gaara smirked when she gasped ever so slightly. "Left off." He growled deep in his throat, surprising her with a long, slow lick that originated at the apex of her jaw and continued upward toward her temple.

"I didn't know _this _was where we were at!" Protested Sakura as Gaara climbed on top of her, pinning her to the bed. "I thought you wanted a _kiss_, not a-" Gaara angrily crushed his lips to hers, his tongue forcing itself inside her mouth. She immediately responded, letting him roam as he pleased. She didn't want to protest; she was rather enjoying it. However, she could not shake the knowledge that if she _did _he'd probably bite her tongue off. Kissing him was much different than when she kissed Sai. Sai had been safe and somewhat exciting, but not like Gaara.

Gaara's hands found his way to her chest and he groped her almost absently as he dominated her lips and tongue. Sakura let out a soft moan and Gaara smirked against her lips. Sakura could feel goosebumps breaking out on her arms and legs when Gaara's hands found their way behind her back, and his fingers curled around the hem of shirt. He slowly pulled it up over her head, his eyes open to see her expression as he did so. They'd halted their kissing for the moment, and Gaara didn't mind because he was about to reimbursed for his momentary wait.

She had creamy white skin that was only slightly darker than his own. The deep gray of the shirt that she was wearing made her skin look even lighter. Gaara's hand enveloped her breast, and she self-consciously bit her lip. His large hands made her breasts seems so small... Gaara smiled at her hesitance, pressing his body against her to show her body was satisfactory. Sakura gasped when he grabbed a fistful of her pink hair and yanked her head back so that he could rake his pearly white teeth across the tender flesh there. Gaara's fingertips dug into the skin on her back, and she arched into him. Her hands fumbled across his back for the edge of his shirt. He flinched away from her, giving her a dirty look. He pulled off his own shirt, and just as quickly shucked his pants. Sakura was past questioning his odd quirks; it'd been a while since she'd had sex and she'd forgotten how much she enjoyed it. She'd become so used to the craving for it that she hadn't even noticed she wanted it.

Gaara reached over to relieve her of her pants, and yanked so hard that her whole body came a few inches off the bed. Sakura giggled, completely unperturbed by his strength. Gaara smirked at her willingness, and deviously slipped his hands underneath her to undo her bra. It was the quickest anyone had ever gotten her bra off; his fingers were skilled, there was no denying that. Sakura blushed at the thought, but Gaara didn't notice. He was too busy with his new friends. His hands probed experimentally, and he quickly determined that he was turning her on- and quite quickly at that. Her nipples were already hard and at attention. Gaara wasn't lacking the attention, either.

"Come on, Gaara. Don't play games with me!" Sakura whined, pressing her knee against the erection she knew he was harboring. Gaara growled, and kissed her roughly.

"We play by _m_y rules," he snarled, his hands roaming her torso. She didn't mind letting him being in control, but she was _not _about to be bossed around.

"Uh-uh, Gaara," Sakura purred, cupping his face with her hands. "I don't play by the rules, and I know that you sure as _Hell _don't, either. So you're either going to fuck me _right now_, or put your pants back on and go back to your room and get off by yourself."

Gaara sighed heartily, and pulled back from her. Sakura's face fell and she crossed her arms over her exposed chest. She felt like she was standing naked in front of the most popular people at her high-school, and they were laughing at her.

"Where are you going?"

"What you suggested. But I'll just fuck someone else. I don't masturbate- I have people for that." He smiled devilishly, and grabbed his shirt off the floor.

Sakura scrambled across the bed towards him, her pleading words sounding lame even to her own ears. "Gaara! Come on, I didn't mean-"

"You shouldn't say what you don't mean, Sakura." Gaara whispered quietly. It was the quietness that scared her. But, she was past being scared. She needed fucked, and she needed it now.

She grabbed his hand, and pulled it to her chest, as if that would re-excite him and he'd finish what he'd started. "Please, Gaara, I need this!"

Gaara leaned in and kissed her roughly, quickly rearranging her body so that she was laying beneath him again. He roughly yanked off her underwear, and focused his eyes on her face as he inserted two fingers. Sakura shivered, and grabbed his shoulders as he fingered her. His thumb brushed against her clit and she moaned softly.

He continued his work until she was just on the brink of orgasming, and then withdrew his fingers. Sakura opened her eyes to stare at him with a questioning expression. Gaara calmly licked off his fingers, and then stood up. Sakura could plainly see that he was no longer horny. He grabbed his shirt off the floor and yanked it on, and then threw his pants on. No man she'd ever met was able to control himself _that _well. That amount of emotional control was beyond ridiculous. Sakura whimpered softly, and reached out to him.

"No." He snarled, his eyes narrowing with distaste.

"Finish what you started!" Sakura whined angrily, her small hand wrapping around his nearly emaciated wrist. Gaara yanked his hand out of her grasp, and rearranged his shirt.

"You won't play by my rules, so I won't play with you. It's simple. Even a _child _can understand that. But you? _No. _So you need to learn a lesson." Gaara rearranged his shirt, and smiled darkly. "Goodbye, Sakura."

Gaara yanked the door open and quickly crossed through it. He flung the door wide, so that any and everyone in the living room would see her. Sakura screamed her frustration, and tried to cover herself. Of course, they'd been on top of her comforter, and she wasn't able to yank the covers on top of herself.

She yanked her shirt on, and stomped over to the door to slam it shut. Her shirt didn't cover her bottom half, but she was beyond caring at this point. Kankuro and Kiba took one look at her and laughed. They weren't stupid; they'd seen Gaara walking out of there with that classic defiant expression on his face. Kankuro whistled, and Kiba made a harsh, barking sound.

Kallou, of course punched him in the arm- so hard that he whined softly, but Kai only giggled uncomfortably. What _could _she do?

**Author's Note: So, I hope you don't hate me. :) MUAHAHAHA! That's the greatest cock block in a while rofl. :) Sorry for not updating- was soo uninspired. ;) **

**OKAY! :D VOTERS CORNER! **

**First, who to kill next .:) **

**A- Kabuto**  
**  
**

**B- Reader's Choice. :) **

**AND! :) KILL TACTICS! **

**C-Should Sakura lure the next victim with the prospect of sex? **

**D- Or should one of the boys lure a female victim? **

**ALSO! HOW SHALL IT BE DONE? **

**E- Should the death involve strangling? **

**F- Or burning? **

**Those terms are going to be taken loosely, mind you. :) Strangling could be by hand, or drowning. Burning could mean with acid, or actual heat. :) So remember that! Sorry for not posstting! NOW VOTE BIOTCHES! **


	19. Down but Not Out

Gaara shifted uncomfortably in his chair, his blue eyes narrowing in distaste as Tsunade patiently waited on his answer. Her forehead creased when he lazily blinked and studied his fingernails. He didn't want to answer her, but he didn't want to appear to apprehensive just yet.

"Well?" She rose a brow and smiled politely because she thought she'd won. She hadn't though; she didn't know him nearly as well as she thought she did. No one did; not even Kankuro.

"I don't want to talk about it," Gaara snapped gruffly. His eyes narrowed, and his breathing increasing ever so slightly. He didn't like where she was forcing the conversation, and it was making him more than uncomfortable. His chest was starting to hurt, and he felt as if someone was wrapping their hand around his heart and squeezing.

"Why not?" Tsunade inquired innocently, her eyebrows raising with polite interest. Gaara wanted to rip her perfectly maintained eyebrows off of her face and then glue them to her lip. Would she still think she was such a hot bitch then?

"Because you don't... You wouldn't..." Gaara looked away, cruelly glaring at the wall. Tsunade was surprised; she'd never heard him speak without that air of confidence and calm, collectedness. Gaara was mentally kicking himself, because he was losing his damned composure. Composure meant everything to him- if he couldn't control himself how the hell was he supposed to control his surroundings?

"Wouldn't what, Gaara? Understand? It's kind of my job, you know. Don't take it the wrong way- you two aren't just a job to me. You've been here so long and I'm often cross with you because I know you can take it, but I really want to help you overcome your pasts. You can't spend the rest of your life hiding out in here, you know," explained Tsunade, tugging on a lock of her golden hair.

Kankuro scoffed, and then haughtily pointed out, "It's not hiding if we can't leave." Tsunade smiled.

"True," She admitted, pausing slightly as she put her pen to her lips as she slipped momentarily into thought. She bit the tip of the pen, and then removed it quickly. "You're better than that, anyway."

The resulting silence was strange and uncomfortable; Gaara felt as if there were eyes on the back of his neck. "Then why are we still here?"

Tsunade decided to ignore the comment, and calmly continued making her points. "Kankuro, I believe that you and your brother are suffering from PTSD- which is-"

"I _know_ what it is," Kankuro interjected angrily.

"Good- it'll save my explaining. I believe your flashbacks are triggered by familiar smells and sights that are similar to those of when you were experiencing whatever trauma it is that's so frightening-" Tsunadegritted her teeth when Kankuro interrupted her to keep from making a comment that she'd later regret.

"Fuck you! It wasn't frightening it was a fucking nightmare!" Kankuro snapped rudely. His eyes searched her face for a moment, and then he looked away as if whatever he found wasn't worth seeing. He stared at the doorknob instead. He wanted to leave so badly.

"Really? Do you want to talk about it?" Tsunade asked softly, the understanding seeping into her voice. Kankuro would have loved nothing more than to bash her face off the door over and over. He wondered if the doorknob was too big to force through her eye-socket.

His eyes projected his terrified expression for only a few seconds before hardening into an angry mask of hatred. Tsunade couldn't tell if he was afraid, or just truly angry- the expression had gone too soon. "NO!"

"Why don't you want to talk about it?" She rose her brows, and folded her hands calmly and neatly in her lap. She was perfect. He was not. They were not. They would never be.

He growled deep in his throat, and raked his hands through his hair. "Because it's _none _of your _business._"

Gaara stared at the spot between Tsunade's eyes, and imagined himself hammering a nail directly between her amber orbs. Then, again he could just ram a rod between her temples. If he did that she'd definitely shut the hell up.

"It's my business to help you two!" Tsunade responded exasperatedly. She tucked a strand of hair behind her left ear, something she frequently did when she was frustrated.

"We don't need your help; we're perfectly fine on our own." Gaara whispered maliciously. His eyes, still heavily rimmed with the sick-look from the sleep he so desperately lacked radiated such hatred that Tsunade was mildly surprised. She'd have to remember not to insinuate that they needed help in the future.

"I'd like to hear your definition of 'fine' because unless you haven't noticed, you're wasting your life away in an institution! Now TELL me how that's fine? Maybe it's just me, but _excuse _me if I'm failing to see your logic!"

"You're trying to understand the logic of a mad man?" Gaara smiled, because he knew his point was all to valid for Tsunade. She of all the people in this damnable place should know that they were unfixable- many before her had tried, and many after her would try again. They would all fail- it was a simple logic to them. "What the hell do you think we are? Some little project? You think we've still got some good left in us? You wanna fix us? Well guess what- you can't fix us. We're broken, and there's nothing you can do to fix us. "

Tsunade's facial expression didn't change, and Gaara supposed that was just as well- she wasn't showing weakness like most others did. He had to give her some sort of credit.

She exhaled slowly, and glanced down at her lap. Then she looked up quickly and flashed them a bright, cheeky smile. "I suppose we're done for the day...l'll have two orderlies escort you back to your room. I'll see you tomorrow. "

Well _that_ hadn't gone as he'd planned... He had planned on her caving then and there, and deciding that there wouldn't be any more of these ridiculous sessions.

No matter. He'd figure a way around it. He always found a way around everything, didn't he? He was Gaara. It was his thing.

Gaara groggily allowed the orderlies to lead them to their room, his body feeling abnormally heavy. He rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand, and scowled. His eyes were burning. Why the hell was that? As the orderly took him by the arm he trembled slightly, and shoved the stranger away from himself. "Don't touch... me."

"Look man, as long as you come with us where you need to go, I won't touch you, okay?" The orderly who'd touched him had strawberry-blonde hair and brown eyes so dark that they looked black. He reminded Gaara of the devil, which was okay with Gaara. He didn't like the idea of the devil, but after being called one so often he felt as though he was in like company. His vision swam slightly, and he staggered into the wall. "You okay, man?" The orderly's hand hovered about six inches above Gaara's arm. Gaara was oddly warmed by the gesture. He cared, and even cared enough to keep distance.

"Yeah... I'm fine." Gaara scratched his head, and gave the orderly a scrutinizing look. "Who are you?"

"I'm... Well, I'm Jericho." He grinned fearlessly, and put held his hands out to his sides, palms up. It was that kind of gesture that said, '_Well. I don't know what to do now. Do you?' _

Gaara narrowed his eyes for a simple second before turning to walk down the hallway. Kankuro followed, a peculiar expression plaguing his features. What was his brother up to? Gaara violently shook his head, out of nowhere, and Kankuro flinched in apprehension. Something was wrong, but he knew Gaara wouldn't say what it was. Not that Gaara had any idea. How could Kankuro know that, though?

* * *

Naruto stared at the television, the slight buzzing of the audio permeating the shell of blankness that seemed to have encrusted him like frosty ice on a car's windshields. He was stuck inside his mind, his sight frozen over with mind-numbing static and bursting colors. The locks had frozen over and he couldn't seem to bring himself out of his stupor.

He was beginning to wonder if Shikamaru would ever come back. He was still in the infirmary, and receiving treatment for his overdose. Naruto hadn't been worried at first- he had, but he'd told himself that Shikamaru would be fine so many times that he forgot that might not be the case. He duped himself, and he sorely wished he hadn't. He also dreaded that he'd ever had to come to this stupid wing and meet these stupid people that he fell in love with. Why couldn't he just be like Gaara and remain unattached to everyone? Then he'd never get hurt...

A warm breath of air fanned across the back of his neck, and a warm pair of arms draped themselves around his neck. Naruto could feel himself defrosting, and smell the husky, deep aroma that he recognized as Sasuke. He felt the smile tugging at the corners of his lips and exhaled slowly. He didn't like going to that place. He was relieved to have someone to pull him out of it.

"We're going to go see Shikamaru today," Sasuke purred softly, his lips brushing against the back of Naruto's neck. Naruto jolted forward, and spun around to stare at Sasuke.

"All of us?" Naruto's eyes widened happily, and he smiled from ear to ear. It hurt his cheeks to smile this way, but he couldn't help it.

"Yeah. Tsunade wants us to go see him, I dunno why." Sasuke shrugged, and then smiled a small smile. "Glad she wants us to, though. I miss that pessimistic little bastard. He was almost as much of an ass as I am."

Naruto snickered, and then smiled deviously. "He may act like an ass, but I think we both know that you've got the _better _one."

Sasuke put a hand to his lips and made a surprised and bashful face like the girls in forty's pinups had been fond of doing. Naruto giggled and clapped his hands. Sasuke rolled his eyes, and leaned in to kiss Naruto.

Mid-kiss, Gaara wandered into the room with Kankuro closely behind. Sasuke straightened almost immediately. He cast his eyes away from Kankuro, suddenly remembering the awful thing that he'd done to try and make Naruto jealous. Kankuro glared at him, but only slightly. Sasuke smiled slightly, because from Kankuro that was as good as being forgiven. He didn't smile for too long though, because he seemed to understand that it would piss Kankuro off.

"We're going to see Shikamaru in half an hour," Naruto blurted out happily. He was still smiling as hard as he could.

Gaara glared at him, the sounds of Naruto's clapping ringing in his sensitive ears. He slipped into his room, slamming the door despite the massive waves of pain that echoed through his head.

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged glances, but didn't know what to say. All they knew was that- if he continued to act like that- it was going to be a _long _day.

* * *

"Hey guys..." Shikamaru drawled slowly. He smiled slightly, his eyes lazily kept shut. He was having trouble keeping them open. When he _did _manage to keep them open, he looked lost.

"Shika... you made." Naruto gushed, his lip wavering slightly as he realized how close they'd come to losing him. "I don't know what I would do if... if you'd..."

"Kicked the bucket? Jumped the gun? Threw in the towel? Cashed in my chips? Bought the farm? Gave up the ghost? Or would you rather I just stuck with bit the fucking dust?" Shikamaru opened his left eye and gave them a slow, wry smile. "I barely made it. Almost wish I hadn't, but I guess it's a sign that I'm meant to do something here, huh?"

Naruto nodded, and tried not cry. Behind him Gaara scoffed loudly, and rolled his eyes in disgust.

Shikamaru cast him a lazy, delirious look of questioning. "What're you bitching about now?"

Gaara brushed past Naruto and squatted down in front of Shikamaru, his long legs bending far as he squatted down. "I'm bitching? This coming from the man who tried to kill himself seems a bit hypocritical."

Shikamaru laughed lazily, and waved a hand in Gaara's face. His hand plopped down on Gaara's, and he squeezed weakly. "We're all hypocrites in our rights, Gaara."

Gaara rose a thin brow, and Shikamaru smiled. "Maybe one day you'll do the same thing and maybe _you'll _enjoy your welcome brigade. All I know is that you're making me queasy with all your gushy sentiments." The last sentence Shikamaru spoke was generally directed towards everyone.

Gaara's eyes narrowed, and he shoved Shikamaru's hand away from him. "Don't touch me if you're going to make me regret that you survived." Shikamaru exhaled slowly, and Gaara licked his lips angrily, raking his teeth across his lower lip.

Gaara pulled back to watch as everyone else swarmed in to share their affection and relief for his safe return from the brink of death.

As Shikamaru begrudgingly accepted the love and relief thrust upon him, Gaara couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he was in the same position as Shikamaru. Would there be people there to tell him how relieved and happy they were that he made it? Or would they be there out of common courtesy? Would they even show at all?

In the back of his mind, he could see them coming by for a few moments and then walking away whispering of their displeasure of his survival. Would it do him any good to think about such things? He didn't know. But he _did _know that it stung to thing about it. He'd let himself go. He'd gotten attached, even if the extent of said attachment was limited to wondering what they'd think if he was gone. It hurt that he'd be sad if one of them didn't show up. It hurt he'd _let _it hurt. Gaara's eyes hardened over and he forced the lump of hatred and sadness in his throat to recede. He'd sever the ties that they'd so carelessly knotted around his wrists. He was a bull, and they'd dragged him to the china shop. It was time to cut himself loose, and break some shit.

* * *

"Hey, um... Do you mind if I stay with you tonight?" Kallou whispered softly, her silver eyes reflected the light that filtered through Kiba's door.

"Uhm, no, come on in... What's wrong?" Kiba asked groggily, rubbing his eyes stupidly as his stepped back so she could enter.

"It's just... Sakura's moaning in her sleep and it's _really _freaking me out! I don't care if Shikamaru yells at me, but I _refuse _to sleep with her getting her dream-freak on!" Kallou ran a hand through her hair in frustration. Kiba laughed, and wrapped an arm around her.

"Who said anything about Shikamaru's bed? My bed is open to you twenty-four-seven! Come on in, little lady and I'll show you wh-"

"We're not having sex, if that's what you think this is about." Kallou pointed out with a dark look. Kiba's face fell and he scratched his head.

"But I thought..."

"I _know _what you thought. That's why I'm sleeping in Shikamaru's bed. You're a _great _guy, but I'm not fucking you just yet. No muffins for you!" She rolled her eyes at the hang-dog expression that he bore, and then flopped down on Shikamaru's bed. It was superbly comfortable. "Maybe _this _is why Shika sleeps all day..."

Kiba shot her a dirty, lustful look and climbed back onto the top bunk. He could only stare at the ceiling and pretend he was lying next to her. She was so cruel to him...

* * *

Kankuro's hand absently stroked down Kai's back, or played with a random strand of hair. He'd never simply laid with someone, content to have their bodies touching and nothing more. It was a strange feeling of closeness without closeness that he'd never known before. He didn't exactly like it, but it made her happy and he guessed that was all right. It gave him an absurd, tingly feeling in the pit of his stomach. It reminded him of how he'd felt as a child when he was at school and talking to his friends. Just much, much more intense. He wasn't sure if it was a feeling he liked or hated, because he'd always been on edge at school. Always faking, always _pretending _to be normal. Was he pretending? Kankuro furrowed his brows in thought, his hand moving of its own accord.

He jolted slightly when Kai reeled back from him, rubbing her head. "Jesus! You're yanking on my hair, you twat! What's your _deal_?"

"Sorry... I was thinking, and I wasn't really paying attention. I didn't mean to," he said, his eyes lazily studying her features. Kai rolled her eyes, and gave a lock of his hair a good, hard tweak.

"We're even," She exhaled softly and returned her head to his chest. He pinched her arm, and gave her the dirty kind of smile that she couldn't help but blush in response to.

"No we're not," he pulled her closer. He kissed her on the lips, not pulling away to whisper, "Because you still owe me a-"

"EWW! Get it off! Get it off of me!"

At the sound of the shrill scream, Kankuro accidentally bit down on Kai's lip. Kai moaned with pain, the end of the sound pulling up into a shrill, shriek sounding squeal. Kankuro sheepishly reeled back, away from her, and smacked his head off the wall. Kai's hand covered her mouth as she threw herself off the bed and toward the door. Kankuro's arms reached after her, a demand for her to wait almost leaving his unabused lips. But then he faltered, and let her go.

She yanked the door open, and angrily stalked toward the sound of what seemed to be Sakura's screaming and frantic carrying on.

Sakura was in the process of staring in the mirror, and holding clumps of hair in her hands. "Oh my fucking god! It's _Nair_!" She sobbed slightly as she- fully clothed- stepped into the shower and began to wash the Nair out. Hopefully she could get it out before all of her hair had disolved. Kai exhaled in shocked empathy, horrified that someone could do such a thing. Hair was a girl's most important feature! Losing that... would be devastating!

Sakura's hair had grown a few inches since when she'd first arrived, and was now long enough to reach right between her shoulder blades. Kai wondered how long it would be after she got out of the shower.

Kai quickly and quietly slipped out of the room, her hand still covering her mouth. She couldn't help but giggle slightly. She'd never thought that someone would ever be ingenius enough to torture someone else with Nair. She'd have to remember that one...

Kankuro looked up when she reentered the room, rubbing the back of his head with his right hand. Kai looked at the floor, and then looked up at him. "Uhm... Somebody put Nair in Sakura's... hair." Her voice sounded kind of thick, like she was sick. Kankuro dismissed it.

"Nair? Like... hair remover?"

"Yeah..." Kai crawled back onto the lower bunk, her head ducked so he couldn't see her lip.

"How bad is it?"

"I dunno... I couldn't bear to look..." She admitted softly. He crooked a finger under her chin, and tilted her face up to him. He cringed and looked away. "Is it that bad?"

"Nah, I'm just fucking with ya." He smirked, and Kai winced suddenly.

"Don't make that face. You look like Gaara when you make that face..."

"Is that a bad thing?" Kankuro demanded, his eyes questioning. She didn't want to answer, but they seared into her brain, and she felt she had to.

"He scares me, that's all... He's a cool guy and stuff, and fun to talk to- I mean _at- _late at night, but... he _scares _me, Kankuro." Kai searched his face for some sort of reassurance, but when he didn't offer one, she moaned under her breath and plopped her face down on his chest. She didn't know whether to take comfort in his silence, or be weary of it. Either way, she figured she'd play it safe and be weary anyway.

* * *

They were in English class. Orochimaru was actually being accommodating for once. He was kind, thoughtful, and only gave them a few worksheets to do.

As he passed the worksheets out to those who sat at the front of each row, he hummed under his breath.

When the papers finally got back to TenTen, she realized that she'd gotten the last one, and that they'd need some more if Shikamaru were to get them. Her hand shot into the air authoritatively, and she waved it around impatiently, the frantic shaking growing more and more furious as she waited for Orochimaru to notice. However, he was too busy taking in Sakura's knew hairdo.

Her hair was radically shorter now. It came two inches below her ears, and looked dreadfully terrible.

"Sakura, dear, did something happen?" He inquired slowly, his dark voice full of repressed glee.

"Oh, just some _idiot _trying to pull a prank on me," Sakura said airily. "I haven't had a chance to fix it yet, but once I get to Art class, I'm sure Deidara can fix it up. It's no big." She was playing it off quite coolly, so as to not let Gaara know that he'd gotten a rise out of her. But he'd heard her the night before when she'd started screaming. How could he not?

"Mr. Orochimaru! Shikamaru needs paper, you know! You didn't pass him any back!" TenTen blurted, stomping her foot obnoxiously. She didn't like being ignored.

"What?"

"Shikamaru? He needs papers, ya know! How do you expect him to do the friggin assignment?" She demanded, her hands folding across her chest.

"Shikamaru? Needs papers?" Orochimaru glanced around the classroom, his eyes questioning. When he was met with stares of pure questioning, he rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm just very... tired, today..."

Orochimaru picked up the select number of papers from the pile, and passed them back to TenTen's row. "How could I forget?"

It was the same way for the rest of the day. All of the teachers had forgotten to prepare papers for Shikamaru, and for a moment seemed a bit stunned when all of them asked about why they hadn't. They all claimed to be tired, or 'spacey' today. It was strange, but none of them supposed that it was suspicious. So they put the thought aside, and saved it for a later date.

Sakura, on the other hand, was much to busy getting her hair fixed in Art to notice that anything was amiss with the world. She enjoyed the edgy, kick-ass look that Deidara provided her, even _if _he did took another inch of her hair. The fact that she'd found such a quick fix angered Gaara to no end. He knew how much she loved her hair- didn't every girl?- and that she'd gotten over it so quickly irked him. She'd be hardly even complained about it, let alone mentioned it. He _knew _what she was trying to do, and it pissed him off to no end.

He continued to work on the mosaic that they were supposed to be making, working carefully to ensure that the picture turned out how he wanted it. He was making a picture of an eye, and he was free-forming it so that no one would no what it was that he was making. Everyone else had sketched theirs out to some degree before gluing the little pieces of colored pottery and tile to their wooden frames. It was like a deep-dish pan, and they were slowly filling them with tiled-in pictures.

Gaara glanced across the desk to see that Kai was making a face enclosed in darkness, and it actually looked okay. He grimaced, actually sort of angry that their art was close in comparison. He had the strong, sudden urge to break all of her fingers and then rip them off at the base of her knuckles. He shoved the impulse aside, because it was off-based and he couldn't place it.

He turned to ask Kankuro something, but he and Kai were deep in conversation. They were debating music, which Gaara knew Kankuro was fond of. "Kankuro."

When he didn't answer, Gaara scowled deeply. "_Kankuro." _

Kankuro turned to Gaara, surprised by the intensity of Gaara's voice. "What's up?"

"We need to talk when we get back to our wing." Gaara's eyebrows furrowed in anger, and Kankuro nodded curtly.

Gaara could see the questioning look that Kai gave Kankuro, and he exhaled angrily. Kankuro had better not be telling Kai what was going on. Kankuro stiffened next to him, and gave him a glare that cast a clear warning on Gaara's part. Gaara returned the look with twice the malicious intent, but Kankuro didn't relent. Gaara cast his gaze over to Sakura, and sneered with distaste. She was obviously flirting with Genma; she was twirling what little bit of hair she had left, and kept leaning in to give him a better look at her breasts. She touched his hands quite frequently, and was giggling like a tipsy little whore. Gaara didn't like it. At all.

He refused her. She was supposed to beg him for forgiveness, not go off with some other guy. Gaara's fists clench, and he grits his teeth in a manner most angry. Then he exhales angrily, and clenches his fists even tighter when Sakura leans over and whispers into Genma's ears, and the boy's cheeks went pink. Gaara's exhale catches in his throat, and he gasps ever so slightly. A wry smile tugs at his lips as he uncurls his fingers, which are now covered in sticky, wet, liquid life. He'd been holding tiles in his hand, and when he'd clenched his fists the little tiles had snapped and splintered into his skin. The blood flowed freely, and Gaara calmly watched as it dripped off of his fingers and onto the floor. It was mesmerizing, the way blood, just like one's life, could slip so easily through their fingers.

From across the table, he heard Kai make a small sound of frightened recognition, but he paid no notice. He knew that her hand would shoot into the air, and she'd wave it around frantically. She called out for Deidara, but didn't speak anymore on the subject. At least not that he could hear. He felt Deidara's hand gently slip onto his shoulder, and then he saw that Deidara was next to him, staring down at Gaara's hands.

Deidara leaned in close, but not too close for comfort, and whispered, "Go to the infirmary, Gaara. Your brother will come with you. Kai will clean up your materials. Take your belongings with you."

With that, Deidara calmly walked away, and unlocked the door. He didn't make a big deal about it; it was what it was. Gaara liked that about him. He gave his hands another longing look, and then turned to Kankuro who was giving him a dirty look. Gaara would fix that dirty look here in a little bit. But, for now, he'd get his hands fixed up. No use trying to choke someone out when your hands weren't at their best. Gaara grabbed his messenger bag, and casually slung it over his shoulder. Kankuro did the same with his book bag, and followed Gaara out the door. Gaara was pleased to see Sakura watching him leave, her eyes widening with slight fear. Gaara opened the door with his hands, not bothering to keep from getting his blood all over the handle. Nothing left a lasting memory like spilled blood.

* * *

"How are your hands?" Kallou asked stiffly, her hands yanking her hair back into a short ponytail. Gaara shrugged, agitatedly tapping his foot as he waited for the orderly to open the door. When the guard finally slipped the key into the door and turned, Gaara growled impatiently. As soon as the guard withdrew his key, Gaara exhaled with a loud huff and shoved the doors to the lunchroom open. The line was already long. The rest of his wing moved towards the end of the line, and he flinched.

How the hell had this happened? They were moving to the back of the line? What the hell were they thinking? They weren't the mindless fucking drones of this place! They were the smart ones, the alert ones! They'd been sleeping awake, allowing all of these things to happen around them. What were they thinking, walking to the back of the line? They deserved to be at the front of the line, not the fucking_ back! _

"_Where_ are you going?" Gaara demanded, his loathing tone starkly evident. His wing-mates turned around, surprised at his tone of voice.

Naruto smiled quizically, and tucked his empty brown tray beneath his arm. "Whaddya mean, Gaara?"

"What do I mean? What the hell do _you _mean, you mongoloid fucking idiot? You're all walking to the back! What the fuck happened to the respect they used to have for us? You're _letting _them walk all over us! What the hell happened?"

Naruto was quiet for a moment, and then he frowned because he knew Gaara was right. What had happened? They never had to wait in line before...

"We've been sleeping on the job. It's time to wake your little fucking brains up, because we gotta get back to work. This isn't _play _time, so stop acting like _children._" Gaara seethed, his blue eyes narrowing with hatred. He turned on heel and marched to the front of the line. Kankuro was the first to follow, dragging Kai by the arm. She stumbled slightly, and then regained her composure. Sakura watched after them, perplexed.

Sasuke sighed, walking after them at a leisurely pace while Naruto gleefully skipped ahead. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and floated after them, his footsteps light and slow. Sakura sighed, and stayed right where she was. She wasn't about to follow Gaara's lead after all the shit he'd pulled.

She watched with a slight smile as the person that Gaara had cut in front of protested. Gaara laughed slightly, and then smartly struck the naysayer in the head with his tray as one would swing at a ball with a baseball bat. The resounding thud of the tray making contact was nothing compared to the sound of the wounded patient's head smacking off the window that separated thrifty fingers from the food, and then the third thud of the person crumpling to the floor.

Someone screamed loudly, and Gaara chuckled deeply. Sakura didn't like that laugh. It wasn't normal, not even for him. It lilted up and down, and veered left and right with such psychosis that it frightened her. She trembled and gripped her tray with both hands, as if that would suck the fear out of her.

Gaara turned and calmly put his tray on the counter. He waited calmly for them to give him his food. "Well?"

The lunchroom orderlies were already swarming in to pull his arms behind his back and lead him away, but he calmly continued to wait for his food. When their hands wrapped around his arms he flinched slightly, twisting around to see who was touching them. He wasn't comfortable with their touching him, but he wasn't trying to bash their heads in. He stretched away from their abrasive grip, and the veins in his neck bulged. He bucked forward when one of them tried to lace their fingers around his wrists.

Eventually, they managed to get a good hold of his wrists, and they started dragging him away. Kankuro tried to follow, but they pushed him back and told him he had to stay in the lunchroom and carry on "business as usual."

"Let me go with him, dammit!" Kankuro snarled, gripped his tray in one hand. The orderlies shook their heads, and pulled Gaara through the door. Kankuro heaved a sigh. "I can't believe I have to do this."

He closed his eyes and swung away at the nearest person, exhaling softly when the tray made contact. "Sorry, man. Had to do it."

"It's... okay," croaked the blonde man rolling on the floor, gripping his head. Kankuro hadn't swung that hard; he hadn't needed to do any real damage, but he _did _need to go with Gaara and make sure that he was okay. He hadn't been acting like himself. Or maybe, he'd just been acting so unlike himself lately that Kankuro had forgotten how the real Gaara acted.

Naruto laughed, and lifted up his tray. "Batter's up!" Gleefully he slammed his tray into the face of a small, mousy looking man. Naruto didn't like him at all; he'd heard the small man whispering foul words about his sexuality on more than one occasion. What better time for payback than this?

The man squealed, and went down on his knees, cradling his head. While Naruto was doing this, Kankuro was calmly accepting the restraining hands that wrapped around his wrists. He didn't like it, because it reminded him too much of when he was younger, but he'd learned even when he was younger that a struggle lead to worse punishment. Naruto leaned into the orderly who restraining him, and purred. "Oh, yeah. That's it baby. Hold me down. I've been a _bad _boy." Naruto turned to Sasuke and gave him a lazy smile, which Sasuke didn't return. Sasuke dropped his tray and punched Naruto in the gut and wrenched him away the orderly.

"You stupid little whore!" Sasuke spat angrily, punching Naruto again. Kai looked around, bewildered, surprised to see Kiba and Kallou gang-beating some poor little old man.

She turned to a sturdy looking girl, while no one was looking, and whispered in her ear, "Play along or I'm really going to have to beat you."

Kai carefully beat the girl with her tray, making sure to hit so that it would sound like it hurt, but really didn't. She didn't understand what was going on, but she didn't want to be ousted for not being loyal to her wing. The girl she was pretending to beat up shrieked loudly, and then scream again and again. Kai smiled proudly, because it was always nice to find a fellow actress.

In a matter of minutes, lunch had been turned upside down. To some it seemed like an eternity, but in all reality the whole ordeal had happened in about five minutes. At some point Shikamaru had tried to break Sasuke and Naruto up, but one of them had punched him in the face. He didn't take too kindly to be hitting in the face. All eight of them were hauled away, leaving Sakura at the end of the line, all by her lonesome. She regretted not joining in, but she was glad that she wouldn't have to be subjected to the punishment that she knew would await her roommates.

* * *

Naruto and Kai looked up when the door to the small cell-like room that they were waiting it swung open with a creak. Sasuke wasn't actually mad at Naruto; he'd know that Naruto had been messing with the orderly, but it was a good opportunity for him to get rid of his aggression, as well as ensure that he'd prove his loyalty to their wing. Naruto was still a bit angry with him for punching quite so hard, but they were good.

"Sounds like _you _guys had a busy day," Tsunade remarked humorously. Naruto sneered in response to her sarcastic remark, and laughed dryly.

"Now what in the world would make you think _that_?" He leaned back in his chair, his hand brushing over his tender abdomen. Tsunade rose a brow.

"Hmm. Now, I'd like to talk to you guys about Shikamaru," she said cordially, her voice taking on that authoritative 'I'm a doctor, so I'm _special_ and more important than you!' tone.

"What does he have to do with anything?" Gaara inquired icily, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. He was honestly a bit ticked that Shikamaru was being considered the cause of the whole incident. He _knew _that was what Tsunade was getting at, and he didn't like it.

"Well, I understand that his overdose put you under a lot of stress. That had to have been hard on all of you." Tsunade gave him a puzzled smile, and tucked a strand of hair behind her right ear. Gaara rose a brow, and then looked away with a frown. Why was she nervous?

"At least he was a tough guy, you know?" Kiba said with a smile, shooting Shikamaru a smile. Shikamaru was leaning against the wall, a tired expression on his face. There hadn't been enough chairs for him to sit down in one.

"Yes, but tough doesn't matter once your gone," she said with a soft smile. Kiba made a strange face, as if he was trying to calculate an algebra problem in his head.

"What are you talking about?" demanded Naruto, his face scrunching up slightly.

"Shikamaru. Haven't you been listening?" Tsuande asked softly. Naruto scowled and looked away. "I understand that his overdose upset you, Naruto. I don't think he would have wanted that, do you?"

"Why don't you just ask him, you old hag?" Naruto spat rudely. When Tsunade asked him what he was talking about, he made a confused face. "What do you mean? He's right here!"

"What? Shikamaru is... here? Where is he? I guess I didn't see him when he came in..." Tsunade looked thoroughly perplexed at this point, and Gaara couldn't help but feel uncomfortable because she was behaving too strangely for his taste.

Naruto gestured to where Shikamaru was standing, and Tsunade made an expression of "Ohh, okay" before making a quick note on her legal pad.

"Well, Shikamaru did you want to hurt them, and make them upset?" Tsunade stared in Shikamaru's direction, searching for his answer. When there wasn't one, she sighed. "Do you not want to talk to me?"

She stared at the wall for a moment, and then looked to Naruto. "Does he want left alone? I can't tell."

"Good grief, lady, you're _losing _it. It's kinda obvious he doesn't want to talk right now. Can't you _tell_?" Naruto rolled his eyes, and scoffed deep in his throat. Sasuke gave him a dark look, and folded his arms across his chest.

"All right. Well, I've actually come to tell you that you're not going to get solitary or anything like that for your actions. You've been showing such good improvement lately that you're all going to be confined to your wing for a week, instead. You won't go to classes, and you won't go to lunch during that week. You will be confined to your wing for the _whole _week. Your meals and assignments will be delivered to you, and you will have group sessions everyday."

"Is Sakura going to be there?" Kai demanded, her brown eyes darkening angrily.

"No. Sakura has done _nothing _wrong, and will not be sharing your punishment. You all could learn from her. She's learning to be calm, collected, and proper. If she keeps it up she'll be able to rejoin society as a functioning human being. If you followed her example, you could do the same in due time."

'_You could do the same in due time._' The words were ringing through Gaara's head, and he couldn't get them to stop. He wanted to rip Tsunade's head off, shove it down her throat, and watch her stomach acid dissolve it into little pieces.

* * *

"Where the hell are all my notebooks?" Kallou shrieked angrily, tearing through her belongings with a frantic sort of fury. "They were just here!"

Kallou looked underneath the dresser, stretching her long arms underneath it to see if she could feel anything. She checked inside the dresser, and then peered underneath the beds to see if it somehow fell down there. Of course not. The floor was clear. Kallou tugged on her hair, and moaned softly. "Where the fuck did they go!"

Kallou stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her. "Sakura!"

Sakura looked up from her book, and rose her brows in question. "Hmm?"

"Have you seen any of my notebooks? I can't find them! I need them! Just because I talk doesn't mean I don't _need _them! Did somebody take them? Has anyone been in the room?" Kallou's arms were folded angrily across her chest, and she had a defiant feeling about her, as if she was openly accusing Sakura of taking them.

"Not other than when they were putting _Nair _in my hair. Do you happen to know anything about that?" Sakura asked with sudden hostility, her lip pulling back in a slight snarl.

"No! I didn't do _anything _to your hair!" protested Kallou, her eyes widening at the mere thought of being accused.

Sakura smiled humorlessly and nodded. "Then _don't _be so quick to accuse me! It's not _my _day to babysit your shit."

Kallou let out an angry huff and stomped back to their room to look for her notebooks, muttering angry words under her breath. Sakura rolled her eyes and went back to reading her book, her heart pumping victoriously. Ever since Gaara had left her high and dry she'd come to understand the rush that he got every time he completely and utterly crushed someone. She didn't truly wish to crush Kallou, but the unintentional sting that she'd caused felt undeniably wonderful.

As she reads her book, Kai and Naruto are on the floor, wrestling- yet _again. _Honestly, it had been getting quite annoying, but she was doing her best to block them out. They were the most annoying people in the wing, save for Gaara and his outlandish antics, and she didn't want them to annoy her on _purpose. _God, that'd be a nightmare.

She was just getting to a good part, too. The young, handsome man- he had dark, mysterious hair which she loved- had just found the man who'd killed his father. It turned out to be the father of his lover, and he was having inner-conflict over whether or not to kill the man. She was just about to find out whether or not he was going to do it when Naruto and Kai rolled onto Gaara's foot- Naruto's elbow dug right into the top of his foot.

Gaara jumped up, kicking Naruto in the side before he could stop himself. Not that he would if he had the chance. "You moronic little excuse for a man! Can't you control yourself? How the hell do you expect to _ever _get out of here when you act like a _child_? Get the hell away from me! And you-" He pointed to Kai. "You don't even _have _an excuse. You're just a worthless little piece of flesh, and once Kankuro grows tired of you, he'll move on to someone new. I would've thought that _you _would've understood that."

Sakura could only watch as he turned on heel and stomped back to his room, slamming the door so hard that one of Kai's paintings fell off the wall. Kai and Naruto were near tears, which was understandable. Sakura couldn't help but repress the smile blossoming on her lips; she'd been wanting to tear them down from their little happy bubbles for the past _week. _She was just sad that she hadn't done it herself. She was even more ticked that Gaara had been the one to bring her such happiness, even if so inadvertently.

Shikamaru caught her eye and shook his head slowly, as if to say that he knew what she was thinking, and that he didn't approve. Sakura calmly flipped him off and returned to reading her book. She wondered whether he'd kill the father, or settle their differences in favor of the love for his lady. His father hadn't been a good man by any means, but he was still his father... Personally, Sakura would just kill the lover's father, and then go from there. But, then again, she _was _considered crazy...

* * *

On their first day of confinement, it was weird to see Sakura leaving for class and even stranger to see their cart full of work arriving at the door. She gave them all a bright smile, and waved goodbye cheekily. Her actions weren't well received. Sakura didn't mind.

The work that Iruka had given them was ridiculously hard, and only Gaara, Kankuro, and Shikamaru had the slightest idea of what to do. Kallou was silently fuming, trying to do the work on her own as best as she could. Kiba was much louder about his indecision, and was stuck on the first problem, without the slightest idea how to figure out the math problem. Kai was having just as much trouble, though she was trying her best to get through, despite the tears of frustration that would spill sooner or later. Naruto and Sasuke were quietly- for _once- _helping each other with the parts that each of them knew. Kankuro and Gaara finished their math work quickly, and were doing their work for Kakashi. They were studying the war strategies of ancient leaders and generals. Gaara was actually interested in the assignment for once; he liked war tactics. They were _most _useful to know by heart.

As they slaved the day away, Sakura had fun in her classes, and then had even _more _fun at lunch. While everyone was eating, she slipped into the bathroom- the bathrooms at lunch didn't require someone to lock and unlock the door. Midway through lunch, Genma joined her there, and they casually fucked in one of the stalls. So much for class, right?

Genma wasn't a fantastic person to hunker down with for the rest of her life, but he was a great roll in the hay. As sex obsessed as he was, she knew that he had to have watched enough porn to be good at it on _some _level. Sure, he'd probably brag about it- but that was _fine _by her. As long as Gaara got wind of it, she'd be fine. He'd said that he had other people to have sex with- well so did _she. _Genma just so happened to be the easiest one to do it with on such short notice.

By the time lunch rolled around, the rest of her wing had finished all of their work, and were trying to relax and find something to occupy their time with. They weren't having a very easy time of it. Gaara is quite intrigued as to why Sakura looked so happy when she got back, but didn't question her. He didn't want to appear interested.

He'd rather stew in silence.

* * *

"You _what?_" Kallou asked gleefully. Her voice arched slightly, and she let out a squeal of amusement. "I can't believe you _did _that!"

Sakura laughed, and then continued her tale. "I know! I... I kinda needed it though. After that _asshole_ left me hanging, I realized how much I missed it... Kinda whorey, don't you think?" Sakura bit her lip, and her eyes widened in a childishly hopeful face. Kallou grimaced slightly, because the puppy-dog eyes reminded her of Kiba, and she didn't want to associate _him _with Sakura.

"What? No..." Lied Kallou, her voice ringing true in Sakura's ears. Kai had been teaching her to lie, in case they ever got caught. She'd figured that if they were going down that they'd better go out with style.

"Alrighty, well I'ma go to sleep. Unlike you- you lucky bitch- _I_ have to go to fucking class tomorrow. _Wee._" Sakura said with a yawn.

Kallou smiled, and rolled off the top bunk, landing on the floor with a light thump. She walked to the door with a sigh and "I'll let you get on that."

Sakura waved bye, whispered 'good night' and then rolled over. Kallou's eyes narrowed with distaste the moment she did so. She loudly pulled the door shut, imagining Sakura's flinch from the other side of the door. She'd known that Sakura was capable of a lot of things, but she hadn't imagined that this would be one of them.

* * *

The next day, while they were up to their eyeballs in extra work and large assignments, Kallou brought up what Sakura had told her the night before. "So... Apparently Sakura and Genma hooked up yesterday."

Gaara's head didn't pop up as one would expect, but instead lowered slightly as he pretended to focus on his work.

"Woah, wait- _what_?" Kai's ears perked up and she hastily threw down her mechanical pencil, glad to have an excuse to ditch her assignment. "What do you mean '_hooked up?_' Like... fucked, hooked up?" She giggled when Kallou nodded gravely. "Where the hell did they find the time to do that?"

Kallou laughed a low, deep chuckle- she was taking her time. She usually never had any good tales to tell in this place. Gaara wanted her to spit out whatever the hell she was going to say, and fast.

"They did it in the bathroom! They fucked in a stall- how _nasty_." Kallou made a face and shook her head, and Kai shuddered. "To each her own, I guess..."

Gaara's nose wrinkled in distaste, and he repressed a growl of disgust. He didn't understand what it was about her that got under his skin, but he didn't like it- at all. It made him want to go on a killing spree, and then snuff himself out as well.

"Why do you even care about her? She's doesn't care about us. If she cared at _all _she'd be here with us." Gaara snapped angrily, pushing a little too hard with his pencil. The lead tip broke and he furiously pumped a little more out. When he tried to write again, the lead receded and he had to pump for about twenty seconds before the new piece of lead slid into place.

He didn't get a response on the matter, because they all knew that he was right. You can't argue with what makes perfect sense. Then again, why the hell would you?

* * *

They had just eaten when Sakura waltzed in that night. Because of her good behavior she'd gotten free time at night. What a kick in the bitch tits. They had to stay locked up, unable to leave, and she was getting extra time to roam around and have fun. It wasn't fair, but neither is life.

What was an even harder kick in the nubs was that she wasn't alone. Oh no. Follow close behind her with a giddy smile was- of _all _people- Kabuto. It was inconceivable, and yet it was so.

Gaara, who'd been doodling on his left over paper, could on stare for a moment as the two of them headed for Sakura's room. His drawings were thrown aside, and forgotten, and he rose to his feet in a single, fluid motion. "What the hell is he doing here?"

"Whatever I _tell _him to," smirked Sakura. She rose a brow and pouted slightly. "Hope that doesn't hurt your feelings, Gaara." She giggled lightly, and grabbed Kabuto by the hand. If it ticked him off _that _much, maybe she'd actually fuck him.

**Author's Note: So! What did you think? No killing JUUSTT yet! :) **

**Since we already know _how _he's going to die, should they have sex first, and gaara go on a rampage? **

**Or should Gaara prevent the sex all together, and just take Kabuto out? **

**Also... HOW WAS IT? I wrote like a maniac for a day and half! Tell me what you think! REVIEWS ARE AMAZING. They inspire lemons, you know. Just not between Kabuto and Sakura. EW. You can vote for one if you like! **

**Lauren/ Mellokai **


	20. Like Sand Through Your Fingers

Gaara's hands curled into fists as Sakura brushed past him, a devious smile playing across her lips. He exhaled through his nose, the back of his neck so hot he wondered if he was exhaling steam. He was enraged to the point that it seemed like blood boiling, and he wondered if his skin was on fire. There was a red blush gracing his cheeks, but it was derived of the venomous anger coursing through his veins.

Sakura didn't seem to notice it though; she smirked and waved at him with a flirty roll of her fingers, and then grabbed Kabuto by the wrist. She pulled him along to her room, giggling when Kabuto slapped her on the behind. Kabuto smirked at Gaara over his shoulder. Sakura giggled even more loudly once Kabuto slammed the door behind them. Gaara stared at the door for a moment, the hairs on the back of his neck bristling angrily. He wheeled around, grabbing the nearest thing he could and flinging against the wall. Said thing just so happened to be a painting Kai was working on for Art class.

Kai gave him a sad look, and he glared in response. It was the withering, sever glare he usually saved Kankuro but he couldn't help himself. Kai's lip curled angrily, and he impulsively grabbed her paintbrushes, snapped them, and flung them at the wall as well. Kai gave him a reproachful look before moving to fetch them. She knew she'd wouldn't get back at him, but that didn't mean she couldn't be rude right back.

Kankuro gave his brother a sympathetic look and shrugged.

"If I wasn't just as grossed out by that as you, I would be totally pissed at you," grouched Kai, squatting to pick up her abused art supplies. Gaara snorted, and twirled a pencil between his fingers.

"You don't stay mad, anyway, Kai." Kankuro pointed out, turning to raise an eyebrow at her. Kai flung her painting at him, and he easily caught it. Gaara plopped down next to him, still twirling the pencil in his fingers. He glanced around the room, noting that Kallou and Kiba had disappeared, probably in response to Gaara's abrupt outburst. Naruto and Sasuke were still in their room; they knew better than to get between Gaara and whoever he was on a warpath with. Shikamaru was sprawled out on the couch, tutting and giving Gaara a knowing side-long look that Gaara detested without any length of a doubt. Kai wandered into her room to put her belongings away.

His body stiffened with a certain degree of rigor caused by the immense rage spiraling through him. He couldn't pinpoint the exact cause of his emotions, and he almost wanted to sit and contemplate why he felt this way, but he knew that it would only bring him further distress.

His body was telling him to go in there and rip them apart, but his mind was telling him to relax and forget about her. He had enough on her to tear her emotional being to shreds. But, why bother taking the long route when he could just go in there and kill Kabuto now? Well, kill might be a bit of an over reaction, but nonetheless it was what he wanted to do. He didn't do anything by halves.

Pushing off of the couch with his right hand, he abruptly thrust himself into an upright position. His long, lanky legs carried him across the room with apart anger, his motions jerky and rough.

Long, pale fingers curled around the doorknob on Sakura's door before giving an experimental twist. When it gave way quite easily, he twisted it the rest of the way and flung the door wide. Anyone standing behind him good easily see Sakura and Kabuto in the throws of passion, Kabuto's head pressed shamelessly to Sakura's chest.

Gaara was only slightly relieved to see that Kabuto's pants were still on, but it didn't make his anger any less. Sakura shoved Kabuto off of her with a frightened yelp, covering her chest when she realized the door was open. Kankuro whistled rudely, and Gaara fixed him with a look of deep loathing so strong that Kankuro actually whimpered.

Gaara slammed the door behind him, advancing upon Kabuto with such rage in his eyes that Kabuto's erection began to deflate. With a determined grunt, Gaara pulled Kabuto from the lower bunk and threw him on the floor.

"Is this what you do to get back at people? You dumb fucking slut; you go behind their back and fuck other people?" Gaara growled, his eyes directed at Kabuto. Kabuto, confusing the direction of Gaara's question began to whimper as he tried to think of a response.

"I-I just wanted to have a good time!" he stuttered, trying to cover his face with his arms. Gaara kicked him squarely in the ribs, a satisfied smile curling his soft, pink lips as Kabuto's head smacked into the wall and a grunt of desperation left the man's lips.

"What did I even do to you?" Kabuto demanded in a strangled, stressed voice.

"You tried to play with my toy, Kabuto. I've got to clue you in on something... I'm not the kind of kid that likes to share." Gaara squatted down and stroked Kabuto's cheek with a mocking tone of affection. Kabuto whimpered, and then yelped when Gaara's fingers dug into his cheek, ripping into Kabuto's pock-marked skin. Gaara's hands idly slipped to Kabuto's throat, curling around Kabuto's throat.

Gaara chuckled absently as Kabuto began to thrash about, his body contorting and flailing wildly as Gaara calmly cut off his air supply. Sakura smiled smartly from her position on the bed, proud of herself for working Gaara to her own advantage. She'd used him, and he didn't even know it. As Gaara drained the life from Kabuto, little by little, she flopped back on the bed and massaged her breasts. She was disinterested with Kabuto and anything that happened to him at this point.

Gaara pulled back when Kabuto was thoroughly unconscious, undecided as to whether or not he really wanted to kill the man. That could be determined later. He turned around, rotating on his heels while he remained in his squatting position. He wasn't particularly happy to see that Sakura was quite content to masturbate herself into bliss, completely forgetting about him and the gray-haired sack of shit laying on the floor in a disgruntled heap.

"Are you gonna stare, or are you gonna come fuck me?" demanded Sakura, a heavy, whining pant moving through her.

"That depends. Are you going to let random people suck and fuck you?" Gaara deftly crawled on top of her, his lips curving into a sadistic, knowing smile.

"If you'd fuck me I wouldn't have to fuck random people, you moron," retorted Sakura, smiling when he nip at her collar bone in a violent, possessive manner.

"If you wouldn't be a bitch, I would gladly fuck. Fuck your brains out."

"Then fucking fuck me!" pleaded Sakura, thrusting her naked hips against his oh-so-apparently clothed ones. It was maddening.

Gaara chuckled wryly, lifting his lips to hers. He kissed her possessively, but it was a slow, commanding kiss. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that silence is golden? Shut the fuck up. "

Sakura moaned when he began to shed his shirt. She reached up to help him undo the buttons, but he swatted her hands away with angry glare. Sakura frowned just as angrily, only resuming a less than pissed demeanor when he began to nibble on her nipples. He wasn't gentle about it, that much was for sure. That was fine with her; she was all about rough sex.

As Gaara yanked down his pants, letting them hang around his knees, she shifted to accommodate his motions. Her underwear were ripped off, and flung across the room. Ironically enough, they landed on Kabuto's head.

Gaara thrust into her, without any further hint of foreplay. Gaara settled into a quick, mindless rhythm. It was as he did this that Sakura realized what she'd been missing all these years. Sex with Sai had been fun, but in a vanilla sort of way. She thoroughly enjoyed the way Gaara knew where to touch, how to touch, and when to touch. He took what he wanted from her, and didn't think anything of it. If only she'd been woman enough for Sai.

Gaara teeth grazed over her shoulder, and she moaned when he nibbled the sensitive flesh of her earlobe. Her hips bucked up to him in an almost lazy repercussion, mostly because she knew she had no hope of keeping pace with him.

"Are you going to fuck Kabuto again?" Gaara grunted, punctuating each syllable with a deep, hard thrust.

"N-urgh! Gaara!"

Gaara hand lashed out to slap her across the side of her hips, near her ass. Sakura yelped immediately, and stopped moving.

"Are you going to fuck around?"

"N-no!" Sakura whimpered when Gaara claimed her mouth with a violently passionate kiss. As he kissed her, her mind wandered. She loved rough sex, but Gaara was beginning to make her uncomfortable. She was afraid he was going to hurt her. She'd seen the lustful look in his eyes, and it was honestly the same facial expression he bore when he was getting a rise out of someone, or beating someone to a pulp.

"Good," Gaara grunted as he came, and then he pulled back from her. With a grin, he pulled up his pants and began to throw his shirt on.

"But, I didn't even get to cum!" Sakura protested, moving on all-fours to look up at him.

"Who said I'd make you cum?" he demanded, his eyes sparkling deviously. Sakura angrily flung a pillow at him, which he easily dodged. "Thanks for the fuck, Sakura, but I have things I have to do."

Sakura watched dumbly for a moment as Gaara sauntered over to the door, finally relieved of his need to get off. She opened her mouth to protest just as Gaara wrenched the door wide. "So you're not even gonna get me off?"

Kankuro, immediately taking notice to such dirty talk, looked her way. He boldly took in her naked form, and smiled. Gaara glanced back at Sakura, and rose a brow. "No."

Gaara noticed that Kai was still in her room, no doubt. He wondered if Kankuro would go through with what he knew he was thinking. Kankuro was thinking of simply marching in there and finishing Sakura off, and getting off himself as well. Gaara didn't really care at the moment. He'd gotten what he'd wanted, what he'd needed. He'd made Sakura into his own personal cum dumpster, and now that he'd taken out his trash, he didn't care who used her. When the garbage got full again he'd make use of her.

Gaara strolled to his room, quite slowly. He could feel Kankuro eying Sakura, whom he knew hadn't moved and was still in full, naked view of Kankuro. Kankuro inhaled abruptly, and Gaara looked back. Sakura was fingering herself, defiantly trying to get Kankuro to look her in the eyes. Her eyes flicked over to Gaara and she flipped him off with her free hand. Gaara could hear Kankuro getting up from the couch as he shut his door behind him.

* * *

"No, he didn't!" Naruto let out a pent up breath and laced his fingers behind his head. Shikamaru nodded, coupling his exasperation with his blonde friend's.

"Yeah, he did. Just got up, walked in, and fucked her brains out. Gaara shouldn't have let that happen, because now that Sakura knows she has a fuck buddy who'll fuck her whenever she wants, she's gonna be all over that." Shikamaru sighed and laced his fingers behind his head. Kankuro was passed out on the couch, fast asleep. Sakura was still in her room. So was Kai.

"Does Kai know?"

"God no. You'd know if she had," chuckled Shikamaru. "This is why I refuse to screw around with any of you guys. Too fucking troublesome..." Shikamaru sighed and heaved himself off the couch and began to stroll back to his room.

* * *

Sasuke lazily brought the fork to his lips, raising a brow when Sakura averted her eyes. Why was she being so shy now? He knew that she hadn't been so shy last night- especially not in front of Kankuro. He wondered what Kankuro's face had looked like when Sakura was being so naughty. What had Kankuro been thinking? Was he going a new route, or had it just been a one time thing? That was what Sasuke wanted to know.

Kai was sitting next to Kankuro, completely oblivious that her man of choice had went and fucked another girl while she slept mere feet from them. She was only semi-off-put by Sasuke and Naruto's knowing stares, brushing them off as yet another bizarre practical joke. Sakura cast her a chain of stray worried expressions every now and again, but Kai merely took it as an apology for being so loud with Kabuto and Gaara. Kai was completely flabbergasted at how Sakura could sleep with either of them- Kabuto was just a freak, there was no getting past that. Gaara... well, he seemed terrifying. The sounds of him slapping her hadn't been quiet- coming from Gaara they had to been painful. However good the sex had been, it had sure worn Sakura out. She'd slept past her alarm, and was now late for her classes, hence her eating with them. But, to each her own. Kai wondered what kind of kinky sex the whole lot of people in her wing got the thought of it made the back of her neck hot, and she had to quash the thought from her mind.

Kallou stared at her nails, idly picking the black nail polish off of her fingernails. She'd heard them all right. She knew what had gone down, and she didn't approve. She hadn't known about the Kankuro part, but Shikamaru had made absolutely sure to tell her. She thought it was funny really that Kankuro would fuck Sakura. She'd seen it happening. Sakura wanted to be fucked, and Kai sure as hell hadn't put out- Kankuro would've been a bit more mellow if she had. Absently she wondered if Kabuto had left before or after Kankuro was done fucking Sakura's brains out. Sakura just couldn't seem to keep her mouth shut- listening to them fuck was like listening to a bear fuck a friggin' chimpanzee. It wasn't fun, needless to say.

Kabuto had crept out sometime late night while Sakura and Kankuro were still going at it- he had most definitely realized that Sakura was too fucked up to even think about fucking. It was ridiculous, if you asked him, that she could go through so many sexual partners in an effort to simply get off. You'd think if she was that hard up she'd just masturbate, but no. He wouldn't be able to look her in the eye for weeks- not that Gaara would let him live that long.

"So I hear you had some fun last night Sakura," mused Kiba. He waggled his eyebrows, and Sakura blushed madly.

"Good God, guys. Lighten up. You act like her getting laid is a huge fucking deal," snapped Kai, flicking her cereal puffs at Kiba. Sakura scratched her neck and pushed back from the table, speedily heading toward her room.

Gaara ducked his head as he smiled, a ripple of pride tingling through his body at her great discomfort. He was tickled to be responsible for the whole situation, and how personally upset he'd caused her to be. Kai didn't have any idea how much she'd regret sticking up for Sakura and he fully intended to make her regret it. Oh did he have plans...

* * *

"Did anybody understand the math work that Iruka assigned? I totally don't get it at all," admitted Naruto, scratching the top of his head before lacing his hands there.

"Hell no." Kiba grunted, sitting up on the floor. "I think I've got like... mathslexia or something! I just don't get it dude..."

"Me either..." mumbled Kai, rubbing at her eyes in frustration. "It's driving me crazy!"

"We're already crazy, according to the people who've got us locked up..." snapped Kankuro, scratching at his stomach. It hurt. Badly. Just then Kai leaned against him, and he felt a surge of guilt wash through him as well. "Quit it. I'm trying to do my work!" He pushed her away, and she stuck her tongue out at him before settled into her work again.

Shikamaru let out a long, drawn out sigh as if to announce that he was ready to say something. He was. "Come here, and I'll help you three," sighed Shikamaru, cracking his knuckles in preventetive preparation. "Boy oh boy. Won't this be fun..."

* * *

When lunch finally came, Gaara grabbed his food and went back to his room, so that he could eat in peace and away from his brother. He hadn't thought that Sakura being with another man after he'd already used her would get to him so badly but it had- it was still getting to him. But, that it was his brother? It killed him.

He wasn't even mad- he just wanted to shut down. He hadn't felt so dejected in a long, long time. But, he hadn't been in such close quarters with so many people for a long time, either. He needed to regroup, and get his mind away from her. He wasn't sure if he was going to get rid of her not, but he was definitely contemplating it.

He stared at his ceiling, wondering slow thoughts about his father, and how he had felt when his mother died. How badly had his mother's death impacted the man? He wondered if Kankuro even remembered their mother, and the smell of her- what had her hair felt like? Gaara could imagine caressing it in the coarse of a hug, and the smell of her perfume when she leaved over him to tuck him into bed at night, and even the smell of her shampoo. He felt cheated- sorely cheated. He knew that it had to be worse for Temari though- she actually knew her, and had time to experience her loving care. She'd been able to live with their father when he was a better person because of her. Why did Gaara always have to have such trouble with women? If he'd had a mother, he wouldn't have to be this way- maybe he'd find a good one that he could love and trust. Not here though. He hated this place, and loving anything as a result of it seemed impossible.

That still didn't explain his infatuation with Sakura though. He couldn't understand the feeling that had settled deep in the pit of his stomach. He longed to see Temari, and to have her tell him what to do as she did when he was so little. He wondered if she resented having to take the roll of mother to him and Kankuro, even if she wasn't that much older than he was. He wondered if she'd finished her day courses at the college an hour away. She'd been taking them during the day, and then coming here during the night to do work. She was studying to be a psychiatric nurse, and Tsunade had already guaranteed a job upon completion of college. That notion made Gaara feel a little bit happier.

He swung his legs over to the edge of the bed, folding his hands in his lap as he hung his head. He was getting a migraine again. Tsunade told him they were called cluster headaches, but he didn't see why. Maybe it was they were just a clusterfuck of pain and trippy wide-awake-dreams, but he didn't really care. They hurt terribly, and the only way that they went away was when he pulled out his hair and smashed his skull of anything that he could find. It sounded counter-productive, but it was a helpful process. It was like he was releasing the clutches of something evil and ugly with each self-deprecating effort.

He lay back down, closing his eyes. He couldn't lay stilll- why couldn't he just have a simple existence? Gaara pondered slipping the sheers out from their hiding place, and taking them apart so that he had the curved blades all to himself. He could always slit his wrists and end his misery; it would make him weak. He was weak as it was though, and he didn't like being weak. He didn't fear death, only feared the pain. He knew pain. If pain felt anything like he felt right now, he didn't want death, not in the slightest. But, if it was quick and simple...

Gaara repressed an enraged and pained scream, and covered his face with his pillow. He wanted to die.

* * *

Tsunade sighed, leafing through some of the papers that had been stacked haphazardly on her desk. It seemed that the amount of paperwork on her desk never got smaller. The more paperwork she did, the higher the stack of incoming files seemed to get.

She leafed through a few files on new arrivals to the institute, and then paused to make notes on one of the patients. He was a mental-break patient, or one of the patients who had a meltdown, and was just coming in for observation to ensure that he was on the right track to recovery. He was an 'at-risk' patient for violent behavior, and she just wanted to make sure that they made not of that in his rooming arrangements.

She set the file into the other pile, the outgoing file work. These files would go out to the workers in the institution, and they would be able to get the information updates and orders by head of medicine that they needed. Tsunade was just the lucky person that had to fill out that paperwork. She'd tried having an assistant to help her do the work, but it just wasn't worth it. It took a lot longer, and caused her a lot more stress. Not to mention, she always had to hear about her "overzealous intake of sake."

She leafed through a few files, and then paused when she met a familiar face. What in the hell... How could she be getting a new admission when he was already considered a seasoned patient?

Tsunade took in the slight, masculine features and sighed. Things with this kid just kept getting more and more complicated. She didn't know whether she should interfere or not. It was one of those damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't kind of situations. Dammit.

* * *

Nighttime, at last. Kabuto had to go get his ID key from Sakura's room. Somehow it'd fallen off of his shirt in the... excitement of the previous nights activities. They were a new idea, one that provided easier security over patients. Specific colors showed what wing they were from, and specific numbers on the bar-code granted access to certain areas. There was also a level system indicated on each card, in the very center of the display. Level one was the most serious, and level six was the least serious.

Kabuto himself was only a level three, and he'd liked to keep it that way. Sneaking around at night and losing his card wouldn't help him, but he needed it back. If he didn't get his card back he wouldn't be able to go to the library, or get into the lunchroom by himself. There were still guards and security everywhere, not to mention the orderlies, but that couldn't be helped.

Kabuto scratched the back of his neck, remembering how terrified he'd been when Gaara had attacked him. There was just something about the guy- whenever he spoke it sent shivers down his spine. He felt like he'd been staring death in the face, and that it was only sheer luck he'd gotten away. He hoped going back didn't impact his chances of maintaining that sheer luck.

He didn't dare knock and stand the chance of facing Gaara or Kankuro. Kankuro scared him almost as much as Gaara, but Kankuro seemed to possess a certain soft-side that Gaara didn't.

Kabuto gently twisted the knob, scowling when he found out that it was locked. He withdrew his roommates card, and inserted it into the door, using it as a lever to help him push back the metal part that would lock the door. When it gave a little he gently pushed the door open, and slipped inside. Kabuto didn't shut the door all the way, in case it was loud enough to wake anyone up.

He crept over to Sakura's room, edging the door open as quietly as he could. Brushing a stray lock of ash colored hair from his face, he froze. Kankuro and Sakura were going at it yet again. When the light from the tv in the background filtered into Sakura's semi-lit room, both Sakura and Kankuro turned to look at Kabuto- both bore expressions of extreme surprise.

"I- I need my ID card! I left it in here! On accident, I swear! I need it back!" Kabuto stuttered, trying to avert his eyes.

"Why didn't you just ask me at lunch you idiot?" snapped Sakura, rolling her eyes as she pulled the covers over herself. Kabuto coughed dryly, and scratched his cheek uncomfortably.

"I- I couldn't bring myself to talk to you after last night. I gotta admit it scared the shit out of me..."

Kankuro grunted uncomfortably, and shifted his weight. "Well, get it and get out. Don't tell anybody about this, or I swear to God-"

"I get it man, I get it!" Kabuto wearily threw himself down on the floor as Kankuro yanked his shirt back on and Sakura pulled back on her pajama bottoms. By the time he found his ID card- it had somehow managed to lodge itself under one of the dressers- both Sakura and Kankuro were already dressed. Kankuro had slipped out and plopped down on the couch, pretending to be asleep.

Sakura, now fully dressed and laying calmly in her bed, sat up and shrieked as loud as she she could. Kabuto yelped and tried to sit up quickly, his head smacking into one of the handles on the dresser. His ID card barely in his grasp, he tried to scramble towards the door.

Naruto was the first one to cross paths with him. Kabuto nearly shit his pants when he saw the lightly tanned feet, and looked up to see Naruto's disgruntled face leering down at him. He pissed himself when Naruto grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and began to drag him into the bathroom.

"Well, well, well... Can't get enough can you, Kabuto?" purred a deep, velvet-smooth voice from behind him.

Kabuto strained his neck to see whom the voice had come from, but in a way her already knew who it was. Gaara- it had to be him.

When the long, warm hand wrapped around his arm he knew it had to be Gaara. You tend to remember what a hand feels like after it's been wrapped around your throat and choking the life out of you.

"I needed my ID card! Please, I don't know what you-"

"What? What I'm going to do? What do I think? I think that I'm not going to do anything. Yet. I'm going to let them have fun."

Kabuto shuddered, repressing a cry of fear as he was dragged into a dirty bedroom, and to an even dirtier bathroom. What the hell had he gotten himself into?

* * *

Gaara watched calmly as Kai crept out of her room, moving to Kankuro without a thought. "What's going on?"

"Kabuto snuck in somehow. Needed to get a card from Sakura's room, and now apparently we're killing him."

"Wh-why? What did he do?" Kai inquired, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "I mean, he's a freak, but..."

"He tried to rape me!" Sakura accused boldly, hiding her fake sniffles. "I was... terrified..."

Kai blanched and pressed her to her face. "God. All righty then..."

Gaara snickered then, letting his amusement be known. Sakura incredulously looked at him, and asked him if he thought that rape was funny. "If that's what your calling it then. It sounded to me like you were having a pretty good time."

"It wasn't me! She was fucking Kankuro for god's sake! I swear! I just came to get my ID!" protested Kabuto, his voice cracking in desperation.

Kai rose a brow and bit her lip, pivoting to look at Kankuro. "Oh really now?" She glanced back and forth from Kankuro to Sakura. "Was she any good?"

"Wha- what?" Sakura asked in confusion. "You... Wow. I can't believe you're asking that right now."

"I can't believe you two went and fucked around. But that happened, didn't it?" Kai sighed, and shoved past them to get to Kabuto. "All right so what are we doing here?"

Kankuro scowled, and then glanced over to Sakura. She shrugged, offering a small smile. And just like that Kankuro and Kai were no more. Kankuro and Sakura were beginning their own little relationship.

Gaara frowned, because this was completely not the reaction he'd been expecting. Oh well, he'd make her miserable yet. Sakura as well. Kankuro didn't deserve to be happy when he was so god-damned miserable.

* * *

Ah, there was nothing like the sound of another man's screams to get your heart going. Kankuro gleefully dug the gardening sheers deeper into Kabuto's lower-back, wrenching them to effectively damage the spinal cord.

Sakura watched with boredom, tapping the metal tongs on her thigh in a slow, dragging rhythm. Her mind was wandering and she was thinking about how silly Kabuto's facial expressions were. Listening to him beg for his life was kind of funny, in a sick, twisted way. It made her head spin, and she couldn't help but smile. He sounded so old- his voice had grown hoarse with shouting and it actually complimented his hair.

Sakura still couldn't figure out why his hair was gray, even though he was undoubtedly so young. She remembered that her grandpa used to make the same moans and groans that Kabuto was making right now when he was on the toilet, making his "morning constitutions" and doing his "daily pondering on life and the universal."

She giggled heartily, and Gaara rose a bemused brow. He thought it was strange that she'd be giggling right now, but he could care less. In all honesty, he was dying to know what she was thinking, and what the hell was so funny. But, he wasn't talking to her right at the moment, so he couldn't just out right ask it.

Gaara was jerked back to reality when he heard a strange gurgling sound. He looked up, surprised to see that one of Kabuto's eyes had been pulled out somehow, and was dangling by the optic nerve and retinal blood vessels. His own eyes widened momentarily and then he stifled a small smile. They were all getting more and more creative.

Kabuto's mouth gaped, his lips parting and rejoining over and over like a fish. He mindlessly gurgled deep in his throat, his head ticking back and forth with a gruesome sort of shiver. Next to him, he could hear Kai repressing a gag of disgust, and he giggled.

"Cat got your tongue, Kai?" Kankuro purred, turning to gauge her reaction. "Remember how we cut out Kisame's tongue? I think the same idea should apply here. Considering that he spilled the beans..."

"Fuck you," she snapped, folding her arms across her chest.

"Wish ya had," he grunted. "Maybe then I wouldn't have had to find somebody else..."

Naruto and Sasuke looked to one another, knowing that they were going to start arguing. They would end up being the ones to comfort Kai- they would always be the ones to comfort Kai. It's what good friends did for each other.

"What? You're making this my fault, because I wouldn't put out?" protested Kai, unfolding her arms.

"You are kind of a bitch..." grunted Kabuto, lifting his head slightly. His grotesquely protruding eye jiggled as he chuckled, his body finally numb from the pain. "Just think- if you'd put out none of this would've happened, and I'd be off scotch-free!"

"We'd have killed you anyway, dip-shit. And no one asked you!" Kai argue, squatting down to stare him in the face. She reached out with an already bloody hand and grasped onto his eyeball and tugged. It came free with a slight pop, and Kabuto let out a wild shriek. "Do you have anything else to contribute to the conversation?"

"No! No..." Kabuto sobbed, trying to cover his empty eye-socket with a trembling hand, but Kankuro plunged the sheers higher up into his back, and he howled in pain.

"If you put out, I wouldn't have done this," panted Kankuro, raising his brows as he heaved a huge breath in and removed the sheers. He grunted when they refused to come free, and suddenly Kabuto's entire body went limp.

"Well... whatever. You can clean up." Kai sneered, flicking the eyeball at him. She giggled helplessly when it hit him square in the forehead. "Damn... I'm a horrible shot. I can't believe I managed that..."

Sakura calmly marched over to Kankuro, a wet paper towel in hand. She was gently wiping the blood from his face when Kai looked back. She smiled, and Kai let out an angry huff of a squeal.

* * *

"Well this fucks up everything, now doesn't it?" sighed Shikamaru, resting his head on his hand. "Leave it to Kai to fuck up the fucking plan." You've got to do something about this, you know."

"Yeah, I know. " Gaara murmured, lifting his head to look Shikamaru in the eye. But he couldn't, Shikamaru was gone.

Gaara lifted himself from his bed, sighing as his bad groaned and protested movement. He was to stressed to be dealing with this shit. It was making him physically sick, and he didn't like that.

Kai, as usual, was laying on the couch watching television.

"Have you seen Shikamaru?" Gaara asked in monotone, his voice dragging in an almost catatonic way.

"No. He's been in his room all night." Kai reapplied her red, imprinted cheek to her pillow with a long, drawn-out sigh. Gaara rolled his eyes in complete agitation, and stalked back to his room. Once there, he flung his math book across the room, marveling at the loud thump the spine of the book made as it came into contact with the solid metal of the wall.

The spine of the book tore, the back cover of the book snagging between the upper bunk and his wall. His brain echoed with the clamor of commotion the book created, and he loved it. He needed to trash everything and anything he could get his hands on. He needed to forget that Sakura wasn't his anymore. He needed a plan. But mostly he needed an outlet.

**Author's Note- Yes it's been farrrr too long. **

**Now, you guys can poll on this but it probably won't change ANY of what I have planned, don't get mad. And if you do, stuff it because I don't care to change my plot.**

**Do you like the Kankuro/ Sakura pairing?**

**A-Yes **

**B-No**

**Love to all! :) Happy seasons! :) (Christmas is twenty days away!) :D **

**Lauren/Mellokai**


	21. A Life Built on Lies and Broken Dreams

Gaara raked a lazy hand through his hair, massaging with his fingertips. His head hurt so badly he was nauseous. He desperately needed to bathe, but the idea of getting out of bed was terrifying. Any slight motion could yield his lips to the waves of nausea rippling through him.

Gaara grunted when he felt his insides twist, the pain in his head rebelling against the confines of his skull. His pupils had retracted to little drops of black, and his eyes were bloodshot.

With a soft moan, he rolled out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom, his mind reeling when upon fumbling with the light-switch, the florescent light burned into his retinas. A hasty flicker of his fingers turned off the overly bright light, and he sunk to the floor next to the toilet.

His stomach rebelled against him, trying plaintively to spill its contents into the smooth porcelain fixture he'd become quite friendly with over the course of his life. It was an old ward, and the toilets hadn't been upgraded to the sanitary, more functional steal toilets. He supposed that the additional reason behind the steel toilets was that there was less of a safety risk, especially when it came to someone breaking the porcelain toilets apart and using them as weapon.

He loathed the steel toilets. It was rather uncomfortable to take a shit when your ass was freezing. Men like his brother, whom he knew did some of their most important thinking on the john, loathed the idea of not being able to relax. Gaara's stomach tied up at the thought of his brother, drawing itself smaller and smaller, rudely purging itself of anything that Gaara had so thoughtlessly consumed.

Gaara groaned angstily, dragging his chin across the seat of the fixture in front of him. His pain was gone, for now at least. His hands cradled themselves against his abdomen, and he vaguely noticed that he wasn't as bony as he used to be. He'd somehow managed to acquire a thin, healthy layer of musculature. His chest wasn't nearly as bony and sickly looking as it had before- he could distinctly feel the manly muscles that he knew currently slack with fatigue.

He smiled to himself, though only slightly. It was a gathering of the muscles in his cheeks, and the slight change in lip posture did not meet his cold, blue eyes. They stared blankly, the odd and demented detachment in his gaze making for a very intimidating expression.

Tsunade, should she have seen his behavior, would probably say that was experiencing a psychotic episode when he began to hear things that he knew weren't there. Gaara would sit there blankly while she tried to explain to him what was wrong, and then she'd prescribe him a different medication, and he'd go to bed feeling just a little more like a blank slate then he usually did. He didn't like the way the medicine made him feel, and he didn't want to lose any more control than he needed to. But he knew better than to tell her that he was hearing things, especially the fact that he was hearing dead people talking to him.

"Do you miss me," Gaara distinctly heard the soft, masculine tone directly next to his ear. As if the person was standing right behind him. Gaara's entire body seized up, and he clung to the hard, reassuring coldness of his porcelain waste-taker. He carried a brief, vague notion of trying to cram his head into the drain to see if it could carry him away, but he knew that wouldn't work.

The reason he was so deeply unsettled by the voice was because he recognized the voice from the very first syllable uttered. Inside a deep-seated loathing was rekindled, while simultaneously an even deeper rooted debilitating sense of fear washed over him.

"Oh don't be like that, buddy. Don't you miss my presents? I can get you some more, you know... All you have to do is ask." Gaara had tucked himself into the corner of the room, between the toilet and the wall. It was improbable that he should even fit in such a space, but he had learned at a young age that survival out beat momentary pains. What was actually paining him most was that the voice was everywhere at once, and he couldn't even pinpoint his fear. That was natural, because it _was _inside his head, wasn't it?

"Go away," Gaara groaned his voice low and grating. It had a particular edge to it that was very uncharacteristic of Gaara. It was the edge that fear often lent to one's voice; the edge of panic and hysteria.

"Why? So you can go and cry in little Gaara's pity corner?" scoffed the voice, close to his left ear. "I don't think so. I think I need to cheer you up, little boy."

"I'm not a little boy!" Gaara snapped angrily, his eyes opening to reveal wide, timid blue orbs of terror. He gasped when he felt a hand close around his slim wrist and apply rapid pressure. Was this real, or make believe? He didn't know. All he knew was that he felt like he was five again, stuck in a place where he had no control, and had little choice in the actions he made. He disliked that almost as much as he loathed the voice and hand curled around his wrist.

* * *

Kankuro smile slightly when Sakura casually grabbed his hand, and brought it to her lips to give it a little kiss.

"What's up?" He asked with an inquisitive lilt of his lips.

"Oh, nothing. Just felt like being that annoying kind of girl who has to touch you all the time and make you smile." Sakura said softly, her cheeks a soft pink. Kankuro smiled, and ducked his head. He liked the way she made him feel.

"You're not annoying; you're Sakura." He sighed then, lifting his hand from her grasp and clasping both of the pair behind his head. "What is this? Are we like dating now, or are we just fucking each other?"

"Hmm... I think technically we're just fucking each other. But, depending on what you wanna do, that could change at any moment." Sakura said with a soft smile, her eyes apologetic. Kankuro gulped slightly, because he didn't think he was going to like what he was about to hear.

"You're telling me one thing, but your face is saying another..." Kankuro's brown eyes narrowed in indecision, his chocolate eyebrows drawing together in perfect unison. Sakura bit her lip, and then sighed heavily.

**"**I like you Kankuro, I _really_ do. But, I think that you still have unresolved issues with Kai, and well, to be honest, I have business with your brother that I fully plan on seeing through. Maybe... maybe we should see those things through before we try and start new things. I don't think they'd be happy and willing to let us right back into their little trust circles, but... we could get back to the way things were, you know?"

Kankuro was silent for a moment, his head hanging low as he thought about this. "How would I get Kai to trust me again, though? I don't think she'd even... consider it... And Gaara? Jesus, he's probably tearing apart everything he owns. Or that _I_ own, because that would make more sense..."

"We'll give them a reason. We can probably just talk to Kai..."

"I doubt that- she's hard-headed about this kind of shit. I'd have to like, uber-suck up, ya know. To be honest, I kind of wish I never fucked you, because this would be a _whole _lot simpler. It was great and all, but now shit it is fucked and complicated to the nines." Kankuro slowly blinked, and then rubbed his face vigorously.

He didn't know _what _he was going to do, but he knew that whatever he was going to do he needed to _start _doing it fast.

* * *

Kallou tucked a strand of her light hair behind her ear, and bit her lip in apprehension. She rolled her eyes, amused by her own trepidation and bravely knocked on the door that waited somberly before her.

Her knock was met with a feminine, surly grunt of misery, but Kallou took no notice of that and calmly opened the door. "Now the Kai _I_ know wouldn't be in here moping, she'd be out _there _getting back at that self-righteous bastard."

Kai removed her pillow from her face, lifting her torso from the body to see that Kallou was leaning casually in her doorway, arms folded across her slight chest. "The Kai you know is an idiot. If she had been _smarter_ she'd have never gotten involved with freaking Kankuro."

"Don't say that. You're the only girl I know that could take a blow like that and not try and off herself- at least in a place like this."

Kai exhaled loudly, and flung her pillow at Kallou with a small smile on her face. "You're the only girl I know in this kind of place who can make me smile when I want to hide beneath a rock."

Kallou rolled her eyes, and shrugged her shoulders. "I try. "

"No you don't... What the hell am I supposed to do? Pretend that everything is fine, and that I never even lo- liked the guy?" inquired Kai, rubbing her face with the palms of her hand.

"Precisely. Now come on! Let's go... do something. I dunno what, but we need to do something." Kai stared incredulously at Kallou, and rolled over.

"I think I'm just going to wallow in my own misery for a little bit, okay?" Kai yanked her covers up over her head, and let out a low sigh. She didn't want to be with these people anymore. The act of Kallou coming to cheer her up only reminded her how miserable she was.

"Okay..." Kallou sighed, and wandered back out to the couch, shutting the door softly behind her.

Kankuro and Sakura looked up when she plopped down, and Kallou cast them a blank, bored stare.

"She okay?" Kankuro asked softly, his eyebrows rising hopefully.

Kallou curled her lip in disgust, and scoffed. "You want to know if she's okay? What about this situation makes you think she's okay?"

"I- nothing. I just wanted to-"

"I don't wanna hear it. You _hurt _her, and I'm not going to talk to you until you've made it up to her," snapped Kallou, rising from her position on the couch. She stood, and then marched to Kiba's room. She slammed the door behind her. She could hear Kankuro groaning in anger over the sound of the door slamming.

* * *

It was about two in the afternoon when Tsunade walked through their door, patient in tote. He was tall, and lanky but oddly enough seemed to have an air of strength to him. He had red-brown hair, deep blue eyes and an arrogant smirk that seem to be common place in their wing of the institution. Oh, and another thing- he looked exactly like Gaara.

Gaara, whom was no longer in his room and was on the couch watching a rerun of Law and Order sat up like someone had lit a fire under his ass.

He was face-to-face with the newcomer in a matter of seconds, his face surprised and interested. The face of the newcomer changed immediately from arrogant and smug to polite shock to complete and utter amusement. He smiled brightly, leaning forward to study Gaara's face. Gaara tilted his head to the side, and curled a lip slightly in confusion.

"Gaara, I would like you to meet Sasori. He is... well, he's your twin brother. Apparently there were some things that happened that we didn't know about..." admitted Tsunade, her eyes narrowed with an apologetic tone.

Gaara's pale, long-fingered hand slowly rose to feel Sasori's face, wincing slightly when his fingers made contact. He withdrew his hand, a look of shock crossing his face. "My brother?"

"Yes. If you'd like, I can take you and Sasori and I will fill you in on the many, many details," Tsunade wasn't sure which response she wanted to hear, but she tried to mask her apprehension with an air of confidence and cool. "Or, if you like, you can stay here and discuss this with him."

"You tell me. I want to make sure he's not lying." Gaara demanded wearily, leaning closer to his brother to his analyze his features. There was no denying the similarities in the eyes, the bridge of the nose, the tilt of the chin, and the shape of the cheekbones. Even the hair, though slightly differing in shade appeared to be cut of the same cloth. Gaara blinked, his stomach rattling oddly.

Tsunade frowned, seeing Gaara's sudden stiffness. She moved forward, momentarily forgetting that he didn't like to be touched, and reached out and touched him on the shoulder. "Are you okay, Gaara?"

Gaara turned his gaze to her, his eyes unfocused and hazy. He brushed her hand off, and nodded uncertainly. Gaara's hand moved to his stomach, and he promptly threw up on her shoes. Her expensive, favorite Jimmy Choo's that she'd saved up for a long time to buy. Gaara was slightly amazed to see that his bile was a strange brownish color, despite the fact that he'd only had water.

Tsunade scowled, and grabbed him by the back of his shirt and directed him towards the hall. Sasori stayed behind until Tsunade gently called for him. Sasori gave Kankuro a long smirk before turning on heel and slowly ambling after Tsunade, his long legs eating up the distance between him and Tsunade.

Just before the door close behind Sasori, he picked up the soft mutterings of Kankuro, demanding to know why he wasn't being involved in the explanation of his and Gaara's newly found sibling. Kankuro in turn could hear see Sasori's gleeful smile and hear the soft snickers. Kankuro moved forward to slam the door behind them, completely perturbed by the mental state of their newest discovery. What the hell was going on?

* * *

"You have some blood in your vomit; have you been throwing up a lot recently? It _could _be a tear or irritation in the esophagus when a capillary burst. Have you been experiencing any sort of pain, or trauma lately? Headaches, or anxiety?" inquired a tall, aging man with dark gray hair that was growing white from the temples to the middle of his scalp. He had deep scars in his face, scars that had caused literal lines to be cut into his cheeks. They looked almost like lines of tears. Gaara vaguely wondered if the man had been held down and cut, or if it was just coincidence.

"Headaches. I've been throwing up for a day or two, yeah." Gaara stiffly rolled his neck around, cracking and popping it as he could. His head was pounding again. Gaara admired the red scars on the man's porous, pale cheeks and absently felt the scar hidden beneath the hair on his forehead.

"What about anxiety, or trauma, anything like that? Any recent mood changes that we should be aware of?" The man was staring at the folder, intently studying it. When Gaara didn't answer he lowered the file, and looked over to Gaara. Gaara was biting his knuckle in a very absent manner, and looked to be deep in thought. "Gaara, is there something bothering you?"

"What do you care? The minute I tell you anything you're going to run off and tell Tsunade what I'm talking about," snapped Gaara, lowering his hands. His bared his teeth, curling his upper lip back in a disgusted snarl. "People like you are what make me so- so-"

"Angry?" Gaara's doctor offered. Gaara groaned under his breath and clutched his head, pulling at his hair.

"Gah! Don't act like you know what I'm thinking! You don't! Get out!" Gaara winced when the man scooted back from his desk, the chair created a very long, loud screech. The doctor apologized absently, but all Gaara heard was a blur.

"Would you like to be interviewed by a different doctor? Tsunade, perhaps?" The doctor sighed in relief when Gaara shrugged, and then quickly ducked his head in a nod. "I'm going to send in Tsunade, and go check up on your brother, to make sure he's okay. He'll be very excited to meet you; he hasn't stopped talking about it."

"Just because he's got my DNA doesn't make him my brother..." whispered Gaara, raising his bloodshot gaze to meet the dark eyed view of the older man.

"Fair enough. If you want to talk to me, or even ask me questions about _anything_, ask Tsunade for Jiraiya. She'll know what to do, okay? Whenever, whether it's two in the morning. I'm going to leave you with this. I know how stressful it can be finding out you have a brother." Jiraiya, as Gaara now knew to call him, set a small black devise on the bed next to Gaara, and then quietly left the room.

Gaara's hands rested on the bed as he stared at the little black device. Gaara slowly slipped his hand over the small pager, and then quickly picked it up just before the hinges of the door creaked as it opened up. Gaara curled his fist around the object, holding it tight, and he placed his hand into his lap.

* * *

Sasori sighed with boredom, glancing over to the girl across the room. She was sitting in one of the stiff blue chairs opposite him, trying to cut through her skin with her finger nails. Sasori's lips curved back in a soft, amused smile. She glanced over to him, her pale blue eyes narrowing in suspicion.

He absently noticed that she had a star shaped tattoo on her cheek. Sasori idly picked at his nails, wondering what Gaara was up to. The girl across the room hummed loudly, and then began to thump her head against the wall in time to her humming. Sasori snorted with laughter, and then folded his wiry arms across his chest. Screw Gaara, this was more entertaining than anything that could be going on in there.

* * *

Tsunade quietly closed the door behind her, and the motion sent a breeze of air in Gaara's direction. He could very distinctly smell the odor of his vomit, still staining her ineffectively cleaned pumps. His eyes drifted to the shoes, noting that the soft, looking black fabric was stained a brighter, strange looking color.

Tsunade stood before him, tucking a lock of hair behind her eyes as she adjusted the hem of her shirt. She lifted a foot, looking at her ruined pumps for a moment, and then sighed in self-despair. Gaara frowned, a strange empty feeling seeping into the upper portion of his stomach, and into his throat. For a moment he thought it was remorse, but it was just more vomit working its way up his throat.

Tsunade, noticing his strange facial contortions, moved her feet in time to avoid the inevitable spray of vile, water, and small amounts of blood. "Are you _trying _to single handily ruin my shoes?"

"The smell... is terrible," admitted Gaara, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Tsunade sighed softly, and then sat down in a chair across from him.

"How are you feeling? Would you like to talk about it, or is there something else that you wanted to discuss?" Tsunade crossed her left leg over her right, and Gaara closely eyed the motion, his bloodshot blue eyes glued to her shoes. She followed his gaze, but made no mention of it.

"Those stink." Gaara said absently. "Does my Mom wear those?" He leaned forward, pressing his hands against the mattress, forgetting about the pager clutched in his left hand.

"Wear what?" Tsunade asked, tilting her head to the right in polite inquiry.

Gaara scowled, and then inhaled anxiously. "Those! Those _things. _Your weird ass shoes," Gaara smiled slightly, swinging his legs like a giddy child might. "What's she like? Do I look like her? Does she miss me? Does she..." His giddy motions stopped, and his child-like demeanor changed to that of a frightened puppy. "Does she _… remember _me?"

"Gaara, the minute she found out that you were still alive she's been calling me six times a day, sometimes once every to talk about you. I simply can't talk to her all the time and tell her everything she wants to know about you and your brother. She misses you so much, and is distraught that you and your brothers are all institutionalized. We've determined, simply by the fact that all of you are institutionalized, that your psychological dysfunctions are genetic as well as environmental."

"Do... Will I meet her? I don't know... what if... Does she want to see me?" Gaara asked, his blue eyes roving across Tsunade's mature, calm features with apparent apprehension.

"Do you want to see her? If you don't want to see her, you won't have to. It's up to you. She left when you were younger, and gave up all parental rights to you in doing so. Please keep in mind that she didn't want to leave you, but that she did so to protect herself and her other son. But, if you don't wish to see her then you won't have to." Tsunade pulled a notebook out of her file, and sat it gently in her lap. "If you have something you want to say to her, you can write it down. It will be private, between you and her only. Whether or not she decides to share information is up to her and to you. Would you like to write a letter to her?"

Gaara looked at his hands, which now rested in his lap. His left hand was still curled around the pager that had been left to him by Jiraiya. He wasn't sure how he felt about writing his mother a letter. He was contemplating pushing the button on the pager, in the hopes that it would call Jiraiya, but he had no idea what would happen.

"I've been having really bad headaches, you know?" Gaara asked suddenly, his eyes concentrating hard on Tsunade's face. "The only way I can get them to go away... I either wait until I throw up and pass out, or I just get myself knocked out. But... if there's no one else to do it I'm just... I'm pulling my hair out and trying to bash my own skull in. It's terrible, and I don't want to... to deal with it anymore."

Tsunade raised a brow, ducking her head as she made a note of that on a page in the notebook. "I'm just writing that down so I won't forget to do something about that. What your describing sounds like... cluster headaches. How often do you have them?"

"Not all the time! Just... for certain periods. But when they start, good _God,_ they're there for weeks. I can't sleep, think straight..." Gaara laughed humorlessly, and rubbed his left ear vigorously with the heel of his palm, the edge of the pager scraper against the delicate that thinly covered the cartilage. "I don't function right!"

"We can give you a bracelet or a necklace with a "panic button" so to speak, so that you can get help when you need to for your headaches." Tsunade sighed, and then checked her watch. "Gaara, I'm sorry but I need to get you back to your room. We can count this as our session for today. If you need to talk, you can always talk to me. "

Gaara nodded, and stood up quickly. "I... about the shoes."

Tsunade's cheeks turned pink with pleasure at his awkward attempt of an apology, and she rushed to smile and say it was okay. "You're not feeling well, right? It's just a natural response. I'll miss my shoes, sure, but as long as all my patients are feeling well and doing well, that's all I care about. I want you to get better, Gaara."

Gaara's cheeks turned pink with embarrassment and he looked down to his feet and shuffled them nervously. "Okay..."

Tsunade smiled and led Gaara out into the hall and then waited for Sasori. She was going to take them both back to their wing. She knew it wouldn't be a smooth transition, seeing as how Gaara had almost completely reverted to a child-like state of dependency, something she'd never seen from him before.

* * *

Naruto sighed, looking away from Kankuro's distraught features, and then back to the intense brown orbs that glared at their owner's hands. Kankuro was angry, angrier than Naruto could recall seeing him in a while.

"I love how Gaara gets all the attention, and once something big happens that affects the both of us, I'm fucking forgotten. Does that even make sense? It's not fair!"

"Maybe she's not worried about how you'll take it; she knows that you'll be okay," offered Naruto. As displeased as he was with Kankuro, he knew that people made mistakes and he didn't want to further ostracize Kankuro. He'd done a pretty good job of that himself

"Maybe she should. What if I- God forbid- kill somebody? Well then she'd worry. But... maybe it _is _best that she doesn't worry, considering that we have killed people..." Kankuro sighed, and then lifted himself from the abused couch. Naruto's deep, ocean-blue eyes followed his movements.

"Where are you going?"

"To sleep." Kankuro snapped shortly, scratching the back of his head. His neck ached. He vaguely wondered if Sakura would give him a neck massage. He missed Kai's. She knew all the right spots to hit, and where to rub and how to do it when he was sore like this.

Looked like he was screwed either way, though. He liked Sakura, but he had the strong feeling that she didn't really like him the way he liked her. And he missed Kai. What the hell was a guy supposed to do?

* * *

Sasuke was in his room, lying on the top bunk. Naruto's bunk. He was idly tossing a stress ball up and down, up and down. It felt like some strange, metaphorical play on his life. He was the stress ball, on a perpetual path of ups and down and God was the hand that flung him to and fro. He might've been gay, and in a mental institution but he still very strongly believed in God.

He had different views than most, but he still believed and that was all that matter to him personally. Sasuke hated being such a deep, emotional person though. He was playing the soulless man's gig, and he felt ready to be booed offstage. He couldn't keep up the charade of being cool and all-impartial with everything and everyone he met. Sasuke was the kind of man who could only take so much before he broke down and cried. He was desperately glad that he still had Naruto and Shikamaru to confide in. For a straight man, Shikamaru had some of the greatest insights he'd ever heard.

That wasn't to say that all straight men had no sense of deep insight, but it was the mere fact that once other men realized you were gay they weren't as likely to have heart to hearts with you.

Sasuke wondered if anyone else had lain in this bed, tossing a ball up and down, up and down. Had they simply been bored, or had they been pondering their existence- the very _fabric _of their being? Sasuke smiled because he knew that they weren't, and that they were probably thinking of trivial, everyday things.

He rolled off of the bed that the state government had paid for, and landed heavily on his feet. He was still on anti-depressants and some of them made him very groggy. Sasuke stretched out his arms, and arched his back. It popped a little bit and he sighed in relief.

Sasuke pulled up his sleeve to itch at his arm, and then yawned. His brain was on fire with things to think about, but his body was frozen in a treacherous loop of fatigue. He wondered if Naruto ever felt this tired. Sasuke bet that Naruto did- he'd experienced days when Naruto would refuse to roll out of bed, simply because his body was so tired that he couldn't force himself.

Sasuke smiled. He liked that boy more than was good for the either of them. He just didn't want to fuck it up.

* * *

Sasori leaned back on the couch, stretching his arms out across the back of it. He rubbed a thumb against the battered suede material, and raised a brow. It was a battered, abused, well-used couch.

He suspected that someone had loved it when they bought it, but had grown tired of it when it was donated to the institute. He had been loved once, before he'd been donated her. His mother still loved him, but a whole lot less than she would admit to. Sasori sighed, glancing over at Gaara.

Gaara was sitting in the joint of the couch where the two halves came together; knees scrunched up to his chest, arms poised casually on top of them. His eyes however, told a whole other story. They were hard and judgmental, but Sasori knew that behind those pretty, clear-blue marbley orbs there was a burning passion to find out about the life that had so narrowly evaded him.

Sasori knew that Gaara was curious, and he was going to take full advantage of that. He would dangle that knowledge before his brother's very eyes, like meat in front of a starving dog. Gaara was starved, by the looks of it. He was wildly thinner than Sasori. Sasori's doctors had always been worried about his weight, because he was considered underweight. Gaara made Sasori feel like the fat kid at recess, the one who puffed after only a few turns of tag.

Sasori turned his attention to the television, sighing with relaxation as he felt his mind begin to wander. He remembered his childhood, and long rides in the car. His parent's conversations would gently aid his sleep, the soft hum of voices like a caressing lullaby. The very thought of his father sent Sasori into full alertness. Gaara didn't know. Kankuro didn't either. Their father was not who they thought he was. Gaara and Kankuro's father was Sasori's father, not the man that they had grown up with.

A slight frown curved Sasori's lips as he imagined Kankuro's face when he heard the news. He knew it would upset Kankuro more than it upset Gaara. Everything seemed to upset him more. He'd seen the way that Kankuro reacted when he found out that he wasn't going to learn anything about his newfound brother.

Sasori's pale lips curved back into a somber grimace, and he lowered his eyes to his hands. Gaara was in a more relaxed posture, which he supposed was good. He wanted to be on good terms with his brother, but he wasn't about to be taking orders from someone he could _easily_ overpower.

**So, granted this chapter is very short. I apologize for that. Please forgive me, but I couldn't bear to write anymore and then waitttt for you all to reply! And from the reviews, I concluded that I would pair Kai with Sasori. Don't like it, tough nubs. As Kacie Pie mentioned, GaaSaku was the main pairing, so whether or not you like Sasori/Kai doesn't bug me a bit. But please, be NICE. If you like it, I'd love to hear it. If not... comment with your preferred pairing Might not change anything, but who knows? :D **

**VOTERS' CORNER!**

**A- Sasori tries to befriend Gaara, but it ends badly. Sasori tries to pit everyone against Gaara. **

**B- Sasori tries to befriend Gaara, and they become a terrifying duo of mischief. **

**C-Sasori and Gaara immediately wreak havoc on the wing, instantly bonding over their love of wrong-doing. **

**(Section two of voting!) **

**A- You want to see a real lemon! WITH FLUFF! **

**B- HARCORE KINKY LEMON ALL THE WAYY! **

**C- Um... I don't want to read smut!**

**D- I have no sense of fun, and don't understand sexual enterprises. **

**(Section threeee of voting!:D) **

**A I want Gaara to be in the lemon! **

**B-I want Kankuro to be in the lemon! **

**C-I want Sasori to be in the lemon! **

**D-I want Naruto to be in the lemon! **

**E-I want Sasuke to be in the lemon! **

**F- What about KIBA? **

**(You pick WHO the male has sex with!)**

**I missed you guys! :D Review, and if you have time, COPY the WHOLE sentence that goes with the letter, or write out what you want. Just leaving me letters makes it hard to go through and evaluate your reviews! **

**Love with all my heart on this wonderful holiday season, **

**Lauren. **

**MERRY CHRISTMAS!**


	22. Holiday Noteage!

**Hello everyone! I'd like to wish you a Merrrry Christmas Eve, and Happy Holidays! I would like to inform you all that I'm redoing a lot of the chapters, as a gift to you all! I was rereading the story, and realized how poor some of the grammar is, and that there are a lot of mistakes. **

**I've decided that, in your honor, I will edit, and flesh out the chapters so that they are more enjoyable. There are also some things that are just WHACK to be frank. It's not plausible! So I'm going back to fix a lot of that! So far I have reuploaded chapter two, and am working on the third. If you would like to review the new chapters as I redo them, then feel free to! If you cannot because you reviewed the first edition of the chapter, please leave an anonymous review, but include your username so that I may get back to you! **

**Also, to the anonymous reviewer who said that they did not like my character... that is perfectly fine! I feel bad that some of you feel like you have to STRESS that it's just your opinion and for me to please not get mad. As long as you are respectful, and give good reasoning as to why- and if you can't think of any, just be honest and say something like "I don't know why, but I really fucking hate your character. Your writing is good, but she irks me." (that's not a real review but it's something I just made up, haha) I would suggest leaving out the fuck, cuz' that might actually hurt my feelings. **

**ANYWHO! ENJOY your holidays! I love you all, and I thank you for alll of your faithful reviewing. For those of you who have stuck with me since my first Gaasaku fic, I thank you ever so much. If you're a fan whose been with me since the beginning, tell me so, and you might get an honorary one-shot story out of the deal! :D It's not a bribe, but a repayment for all the faithful readership. **

**I love you all! :D Sending you virtual eggnog, cookies, and Christmas Hams, **

**Love Always, **

**Lauren.**

**Chapter Two [December 24,2010]  
Chapter Three [December 24,2010]  
****Chapter Four [December 25,2010]  
****Chapter Five [December 26, 2010]  
****Chapter Six [December 28,2010]  
Chapter Seven [September 3, 2012]  
Chapter Eight [September 3, 2012]  
Chapter Nine [September 4, 2012] **


	23. Is This What You Wanted?

It was nighttime, and the soft rays of light that had been drifting through the barred windows were now soft currents of direct moonlight. Sasuke rolled over, expecting to wrap his long, lean arm around Naruto. His arm never met the unique warmness's that only Naruto could provide, and Sasuke sat up in fatigued confusion.

"Naruto?" Sasuke rubbed his eyes slowly, mashing his deep onyx eyes into his skull as he tried to wake himself up. He looked around slowly, noting the cleanness of the room. That was odd; usually their room was a pigsty unless he cleaned it himself.

With a heavy sigh, Sasuke pulled himself from the warmth of the lower bunk. His head was pounding like he'd gotten in a fight, and gotten the shit beat out of him. Sasuke vaguely remembered a dream of punching and kicking at someone, and supposed that he'd hit himself in his sleep.

He ambled to the bathroom, his long legs weighted down with the sleepy morning haze. Sasuke groaned, pushing his fists into his lower back and bending backward. His back cracked, but the muscles were incredibly tight and he could feel bruising on his shoulders and upper back. What the hell did he do yesterday?

* * *

Kai paced back and forth, debating her options. She could stay here, all by her self, or she could go over and talk to Kankuro, and ask if there was any way that they could be together again. She'd forgotten how lonely it was here when you were by yourself. She didn't like to be lonely.

Kai gathered up all of her courage, while she tossed her little stress ball up and down, up and down. She scowled when she dropped it for the umpteenth time, and it rolled underneath her bunk bed. With a soft grunt she lowered herself onto her stomach, and stretched out an olive-toned arm to reach for the little ball. Her finger tips grazed it, and she moaned in distress when it rolled further underneath the bed. She stretched her arm out further, scowling in anger when her fingertips brushed against a rough paper, and not the ball.

Curiously, she tugged on the paper, wondering what it was. It came free easily enough, but at a cost. It was a drawing of her and Kankuro, and in the process of pulling it out from underneath her bed, it had torn, separating the two of them. However, the way that the paper tore seemed ironic to Kai. It had torn down the middle, and then veered off to sever the image of Kai, leaving Kankuro free and fine of any pain or distress. She laughed humorlessly and crumpled the photo up, tossing it at her garbage can.

When it missed, she sank down onto her bed and rubbed a weary hand over her face. She needed to talk to him, and work something out.

Plucking up all of her courage, she stood up, and grasped onto the handle of the door. Yanking it wide, she wandered out into the darkness of the living room. It was still quite late at night, only two or three in the morning. She was hoping that Kankuro would be lying on the couch, watching television. She honestly didn't want to go find him, and especially didn't want to run into Sakura. She'd end up forgiving Sakura. She always seemed to forgive people, whether they hurt her badly or not.

It seemed as soon as she made it into the living room, someone scoffed in annoyance and turned up the television. Kai sighed in return, biting her lip. "Kankuro?"

"He's not here," drawled a deep, smooth voice. She didn't recognize Sasori's voice, seeing as she'd never met the guy.

"Um. Okay... Gaara?" She asked nervously, unsure of whether or not it was him. She felt silly for getting so scared just because his voice sounded different, but it really didn't sound like him.

She moved forward, wanting to go into Gaara's room and see if Kankuro was there. "What?" snarled, Gaara, from somewhere right in front of her. The first voice had been off to the left. Kai's heart leap into her throat, and she stumbled over an ill-placed pillow and went sprawling forward.

Gaara grunted when she landed on his chest, and shoved her off of him almost immediately. "Don't touch me."

Kai yelped when Sasori's broad, long-fingered hand wrapped around her upper-arm and jerked her into a standing position quicker than she could apologize to Gaara. She tried to pull her arm free, but the grip tightened.

"Where's Kankuro?" She demanded weakly, her arm already aching from the amount of pressure squeezing it. She tried to tug it away, but gave up when she realized how much stronger Sasori was. As her eyes adjusted to the lack of light in the living room, she could tell he was very tall. Almost as tall as Gaara .

"With Sakura. Why?" purred the voice closest to her, and Kai trembled with self-pity. "She's shaking, Gaara! Hahaha."

"Shut up," snapped Gaara, his voice low and dangerous. Kai could make out the dark shadow of his body moving to his bedroom. She wanted to call him back and beg him not to leave her alone with this guy, but she couldn't bring herself to make the sounds. She knew he wouldn't stay anyway. The sad part is, she didn't even know who she'd been left with.

* * *

Gaara sat down on the edge of his bed, the blood-red edge of murderous anger coursing through him like molten acid. For once he had been having a good dream, and fucking Kai had woken him up. He wondered if he'd be able to sleep.

He lay down for a moment, trying to repress the seething rage, but it only grew more intense as he lay there. He sat up, trying to cease the festering of his anger. His vision was tainted now with the red haze of anger, and he couldn't go losing his cool- not with the way things were right now. At least Sasori had taken care of the Kai problem. He could get back at Sakura easily if he fucked her, but he didn't want to do it the easy way. He had to do it right. Not to mention he didn't need to deal with his brother getting mad at him, and having to deal with her thinking the sex meant something. God forbid she fall in love with him.

Gaara raked his long fingers through his hair, scowling when he encountered a knot. He quickly moved off of the bed to kneel on the floor, and used his right hand to feel beneath the rusty bunk bed. When his finger tips came into contact with the smooth texture of the manilla folders, he quickly pulled it free.

He flipped it open to a random paper-clipped section and sighed when it opened to his blonde-haired roommate. He put a finger to his forehead, right above his aged scar. It was hurting like a bitch, and he couldn't believe that he was stuck awake when he'd been sleeping so shortly ago. It was like a cruel trick that he'd be woken the one time he didn't want to be.

Gaara pulled the paper clipped mini folder out and shoved the larger folder back underneath his bed. He could do with a little light reading. The rush he got from knowing things about people that they didn't even know about themselves gave him that particular power trip he lusted for.

Gaara flipped through the small portfolio, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly when he got to the portion tagged "Notes on Childhood." If he was going to start anywhere, why not the beginning?

* * *

Sasuke was adjusting the comforter on the bed when a haggard looking Naruto wandered into the room, looking tired and distracted. His eyes were wide, though. Sasuke scowled softly, knowing that Naruto wouldn't be able to sit still for very long.

"Hey... where've you been?" Sasuke asked casually, trying not to wince when he stood up. His back was throbbing like nothing he'd felt in a while.

"I went to see Shikamaru. He gave me something to calm me down. My body is tired, but my mind..." Naruto sank onto the bunk that Sasuke had just fixed. His body bounced slightly, pulling the cover free. Sasuke mentally reminded himself to leave it be, because Naruto would probably be making a lot more of a mess in the time to come.

"It's still goin', huh?" Sasuked asked groggily, his mind trying to buzz to a halt.

"Yeah... you're gonna have to stay up and talk to me if you don't want me to tear everything apart. That's how I get... I'm warning you now before I get much worse. I need to tell the nurse tomorrow when she comes to give medicine. I always get a little stir crazy when I don't get enough exercise or free time. Being cooped up like this... Gah! How many days do we have left?"

"Like, two," yawned Sasuke, laying down behind Naruto. Naruto stared at the wall, where an article was taped up. How had Naruto never noticed it before?

"Hey, Sasuke, why do you have that thing taped up about a murder in the Bronx?" Naruto asked softly, his drugged lips slurring the words slightly.

"That's my family. They're the ones who were... you know," Sasuke admitted softly. Naruto turned around to gauge Sasuke's facial reaction, his mouth hanging agape. How could he have never mentioned that? How much about each other did they not know?

* * *

Gaara's smile disappeared when he saw that Naruto had lived with nearly six different families, three of which he claimed abused him. The first three. Once he got to the fourth, fifth, and sixth homes he was damaged goods. He wondered if he was damaged goods...

Gaara lifted a page from the legal pad, and read that Naruto, when he was six years old, was in the care of a little old lady who had dressed him up in very uncomfortable dresses like that of a doll, and had made grow his hair longer.

Gaara's lip curled with distaste when he saw an old, stained polaroid that had been tucked into the file. It was part of a series, as marked by the small number in the lower right hand corner, and he wondered absently if Tsunade would notice that it was missing from the series in the original folder. It was number six, and on there was a small, cramped note written in shaky, ugly writing that didn't look anything like Tsunade's looping, curvaceous hand-writing.

"My sweet little girl, dressed all in pink for Valentine's Day." Gaara shifted his gaze away from the polaroid, grimacing. That was disgusting.

* * *

Kankuro sighed, staring at the vast amounts of necklaces and bracelets hanging from the bottom bunk in Sakura's room. Sakura was sitting crosslegged next to him, making yet another bracelet for her collection. A lot of them were very bright and colorful, but this was one dark and brooding in hue.

She smiled when she saw that he was watching her, and lifted it to show him her progress. They were simple hemp strings braided together to fashion necklaces, and he had to admit that she was doing a pretty good job. He could spend hours doing pointless things like this, even if they were considered girly and feminine in comparison to his rough, manly exterior. Some of the best times in his life had been spent with his sister and his brother making such simple things like these bracelets.

Sakura leaned over, giving him a quick, chaste kiss on the lips and a quick smile before pulling back. She enjoyed kissing him, but she longed for the fiery, passionate lips of Gaara. She felt terrible that she'd ever included Kankuro in her randezvous, but she also enjoyed the pleasant companionship he brought her.

She felt absolutely terrible about what she'd done to Kai. She'd been on the receiving end of the drama that came from your friend sleeping with your significant other. She set down the necklace in her lap, turning her head to give Kankuro a long, thoughtful look. He immediately stiffened, nervous of her scrutinizing stare, and then calmed down when she smiled slightly, running a hand through his thick, dark-chocolate brown hair.

"Oh, I hate the way I met you. Under any other circumstances, we'd be the happiest, cutest little couple, wouldn't we?" Sakura admitted softly, her eyes sad and dark.

"Why can't we be then?" Kankuro asked softly, his dark eyes searching her green orbs for some sort of resolve, or hint of a chance to hope for more. He honestly didn't know what he saw, but he knew what he wanted to see. He knew what he needed to see.

"I can't... You have to see about Kai, and I can't... Gaara needs me. On some level, he needs me, and I know that now. I thought I was just a game to him, but... Can't you see how weird he's acting?" Sakura whispered softly, her eyes widening in pity. She felt like her heart was cause ina forcible tug of war, and that with each yank it was tearing in half.

"What about me? Dammit, I need somebody, too! Kai's not gonna take me back. Gaara will hate you if you pity him! Please! I don't beg for anything! Please don't make me beg you," Kankuro replied earnestly, his own eyes dark and pleading. He bit his lip so harshly that blood began to seep from the corners of his mouth. He was holding his breath.

Sakura bit her lip, and tried to damm the tears that she knew would fall anyway. " I can't... I love you, but I can't. There's no one else for him. And no one else for... me..." Kankuro's face contorted miserably, and he looked at the floor for a moment before pulling himself off of the lower bunk. "What- where are you going, Kankuro?"

"I can't be near you right now. I have nobody left; I don't need a reminder..." Kankuro muttered darkly, his voice hoarse with wasted emotion. Sakura stared after him, the tears rolling in a silent funeral procession down her cheeks. She felt more terrible about hurting him than she did about killing her sister. That simple fact only made her feel worse about everything.

The door shut quietly behind him, only the small click of the handle returning to the closed position. It was unbearably quiet. She was all alone with her thoughts, and nothing was more dangerous than that to a person in her position. Closing her eyes as the tears continued to leak out, Sakura curled up in a ball at the foot of her bed, the forgotten necklace slipping from the bunk and between it and the wall until it made its way to the floor. The braids were coming undone, and the purple beads were sliding off, bit by bit. It was unraveling, just like she was on the inside.

* * *

"Don't tell me you're not scared," warned Sasori, his left hand wrapped around Kai's upper right arm. He rose a brow when she tried to kick him.

"Why won't you tell me your name?" Kai hissed, whimpering when he lifted her into the air, twisting her arms.

"If you hadn't decided to hide in your room, you would've met me already. So it's your fault you don't-" Sasori looked up when he heard a door open, and the heavy shuffle of feet.

"Who's that?" Kai asked nervously, trying to adjust herself so that she was more comfortable. Sasori still had her suspended in the air.

"Kankuro... what are you doing?" he demanded suddenly, an irritable edge crossing his voice incredibly quickly. "Gaara? What the hell... You've got to have everyone, don't you?"

Kankuro angrily shoved the television off of it's stand, and it fell heavily to the floor. The image scrowled for a moment, and then readjusted itself. He kicked the stand, and then stormed off to Naruto's room. He could've sworn that he'd just seen Gaara in a... less than innocent position with Kai. He'd get Sakura. He couldn't let his brother take everything from him.

"Where were we?" mused Sasori, his eyes crackling merrily. Kai squirmed slightly, and let out a squeak when he shifted and all of her weight rested in her shoulders.

"You were letting me go?" Kai suggested hopefully, her eyes rolling back when he twisted her arms a little more.

"Oh, anything but," chuckled Sasori, brushing his cheek against her forehead. Kai's eyes narrowed in suspicion when his arm wrapped around her waist, his fingertips touching bare skin in the areas where her shirt had bunched up. She gasped at the ticklish sensation, trying to squirm away from it as he chuckled.

Shikamaru's head peaked out of his room; no one could sleep with such a loud sound. He took one look at Sasori and Kai and slammed his door. Kai visibily jolted, but Sasori was cool as cat throughout the whole thing.

Kai squealed when Sasori tickled her side on accident. There was a loud groan from inside Naruto's room, and then another groan from Gaara when he peaked out of his room.

"Do you have to do this the first night you get here?" he sneered, rubbing at his aching head. Sasori chuckled, and nodded 'yes.' "Well go away, because I can't sleep."

Sasori chuckeld and tickled Kai again, this time on purpose. She shrieked, and wiggled furiously.

"Shut the fuck up and go to bed!" shouted Naruto, flinging something at his door. Kai wilted, and wiggled furiously.

"Look- I gotta go talk to Kankuro, he-" Kai broke off when Sasori rolled his eyes and cut her off as he carried them to her room.

"Why don't you talk to me instead?" he purred, shutting the door behind him. Kai's eyes were wide and thoughtful as she heard the door close behind them. This was not what she had planned when she went out to talk to Kankuro. Her heart sunk, and then lifted a little bit as she admired the man in front of her. In all honesty, he was pretty damn good looking.

* * *

Sakura growled slightly when the sunlight from the window shined directly into her eyes. She rolled over, moving her eyes out of the direct path of the sunlight. Her mind was whirling with the dream that she just had. She almost simultaneously remembered that it wasn't a dream she was thinking about, but the talk she'd had with Kankuro the previous night before.

Sakura sat up, her mind whirling with conflicting emotions. She glanced at the door, remembering how angry Kankuro had been when he walked through it . She flinched slightly when she realized that Gaara was sitting in a chair next to the door, his eyes open halfway as he watched her.

Gaara leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "You talk in your sleep."

"I'm... sorry?" Sakura gave him a long look, and then ran her hands through her hair. "So... why are you in here?"

Gaara leaned back in his chair, and then scowled. He put his hands on his knees, and leered at her. "You came and got me You kept talking about Kankuro, and told me you needed me to help you."

"So... you stayed here all night?" Sakura smiled slightly at the thought that he would stay there with her all night and then sighed, realizing that she could've had sex with him last night. "Did we- fuck?"

"No, Sakura," Gaara gave her a strange look, his lips curling back in what could almost be called a smile when she sighed dejectedly. "What?"

"I just basically told Kankuro that I can't continue to fuck around with him because, really... Well I wanna fuck around with you." She cast her eyes away, terrified of his reaction. Sakura inhaled nervously, her insides squirming nervously.

"You should've told me that yesterday, and I'd have gladly told him for you," smirked Gaara, pinning her to the bed before she could even think of a response to what he said. He locked lips with her, doing something that he didn't do very often- he was kissing her sweetly, and tenderly. To say that he didn't do it very often was an understatement- he had never kissed anyone like he was kissing Sakura.

Sakura gasped as her arm was yanked to the side while the kiss continued. It was such a strange contrast. His hands worked quickly and roughly, but his lips were soft and reasuring. A moan escaped her lips when his left hand slipped beneath her shirt to cup her breast.

Gaara chuckled into her lips, his right hand already sinching her left to the bed. Sakura's eyes opened curiously, and she turned to see what he was doing. "Are you... restraining me?"

"Yes," grunted Gaara, giving her a slow look. His eyes were pleading, but he didn't her a chance to say yes or no. He'd already started doing up her other arm, even though she tried to hold it to her side.

"Wait, Gaara," pressed Sakura, shifting her hips. "Why do you want to tie me up?"

Gaara stared at her for a moment, sighing wistfully. He opened his mouth, and all the words he couldn't think of tumbled out in one hot rush of air. "I don't know... "

Sakura's gaze was heavy on his features, and he hated the unsure feeling it gave him. He'd never felt insecure with a woman before- why was the one he wanted the most the one that hurt him the most? "If you need control, Gaara... Just-don't hurt me."

Gaara smiled- Sakura was surprised to see that it wasn't a smirk or sneer but an honest-to-god smile- and kissed her again. Her eyes closed as he kissed her, and stole her breath.

"I wouldn't think of it," purred Gaara, his voice deep with passion. His hands fumbled with the buttons on his pants. He leaned in to whisper in her ear. He had a smile on his face. "I know I'm not romantic, but I fuck like a porn star."

Sakura giggled, nodding in agreement. He didn't bother doing up her feet- he didn't need to.

"Is this what you want?" He asked, his voice hard and authoritative. She could see the insecurity in his eyes though, and knew that he really needed an answer.

"Yes, Gaara. You know that I want you. And for you to fuck me like a pornstar," she smiled, her green eyes oozing 'fuck me dirty.'

Gaara chuckled and didn't bother with foreplay. He drove into her with one quick stroke, knowing that she'd be wet enough anyway. He had that effect on women. Sakura cried out, wishing in earnest that she could wrap her arms around him. Instead, she arched her back, and rolled her hips.

"Oh my god, Gaara," she moaned, trying to contain herself. "Why didn't you fuck me like this last time?"

Gaara thrust again, and sighed a low, content sigh. "Because that was for me, and not for you."

Sakura whimpered and tried to sit up, even though she couldn't. "You care about me?"

Gaara nodded, staring at her breasts as they jolted with each thrust. He nodded slightly, even though she coud barely tell if he was nodding or not. He opened his mouth as if to speak, and then he groaned in misery when the door swung open.

"Hey, I- What the fuck, you guys. You refuse me for forever a few hours ago, and you're already-" Kankuro stomped his foot like a child, and glared at his brother helplessly. "Come on man, this shit isn't fair."

Gaara gave his brother a long, deliberating look. Then he rolled his eyes. "Fuck off, I'm busy."

Kankuro's face contorted with rage, and his hands clutched at his hair. He shouted. He swore. Then he slammed the door, and stomped away, knocking things down as he went. Gaara chuckled, and went back to fucking his one and only. Sakura felt guilty, but Gaara was causing her to have such feelings that completely overrode any other train of thought. He was all she could think about at the moment.

She inhaled the deep, musky aroma that she recognized as his. It was deeply tainted with the smell of medication and hospital "smells", but she'd gotten so used to those smells that she could smell him for what he smelled like. She had already begun to smell of medication and hospital as well.

Sakura wondered if Gaara and the other patients were beginning to rub off on her. She didn't know for sure, but she couldn't say that she minded it. She'd never felt more at home.

* * *

Tsunade smiled brightly, her eyes excited but nervous. "We have big news today."

Gaara rolled his eyes, glancing up to the ceiling. Panel. Panel. Panel. There were sixty-four panels on the ceiling. He'd counted them numerous times, without fail.

"Would you like to hear the good news or the bad news first?" asked Tsunade, pulling her hair back into a messy bun.

"Good," mumbled Kallou, her eyes dark and tired. She look haggard, as if she hadn't slept in days.

Kiba sat up, restinghis elbows on his knees. "No, I wanna hear the bad news first, that way the good news will be a relief."

Kallou gave him a dark look, and he glared back. Tsunade frowned, waiting for the rest of the group to vote on the matter. It turned out that the good news was to come first.

"All right, the good news is in multiple parts. Your wing is getting a new television, as well as some new entertainment supplies. You will be getting a Wii, for the simple fact that we feel you need to be getting more exercise due to your rather sedintary lifestyle here. Also, we will be having a visitor's day in about a week, so there's that to look forward to as well. I also wanted to inform you that we will be getting yet another patient next week. Her name is Rafaela, but please call her Fae, because she detests that name. Also, we've selected various games for you to play on the system, but please note that once it's broken it's gone unless your wing can get your families to either proved the system, or provide funds to buy a new one, is that clear?" Tsunade nodded as they mumbled "yes's" and shook their heads up and down.

"So... what's the bad news," asked Kankuro, his dark eyes narrowed and weary. He'd seen how well having Sasori as a roommate was, and he didn't like it. He wondered how bad it would be with yet another patient in their wing.

"The bad news is that Kallou is going to be leaving us. Her family has contacted the hospital, and we are going to need to move her to another facility," Tsunade said calmly. "I would like to speak to Kallou after the session. To answer an obvious question, Kallou, yes- this movie is for your safety. We are well aware of your status with your family."

Kallou looked down at the floor, completely unsure of what to feel. Around the room, people were reacting differently. Sakura looked mildly sad, and Kai looked as though... well, as though she didn't honestly care. Naruto lifted his head from his hand momentarily, and then plopped his head back down onto his hand. Kankuro didn't show any change to his facial expression or body language, and neither did Gaara. Sasori, vastly different in comparison, sprawled stretched his arms out on his chair, and made himself more comfortable. He was enjoying the tension.

* * *

Sakura watched as Kallou somberly packed her things away, throwing them into boxes with reckloss abandonment. "I'm gonna miss you. You were difficult, I guess you could say, in the beginning. But, I'm glad to have had you as a roommate. "

Kallou lifted the corners of her mouth slightly, a little bit too sad to smile. "I'm gonna miss Kiba. We had a fight earlier, and were kinda mad at each other. Now he's all sad that I'm leaving. It really puts things into perspective, doesn't it?"

Sakura thought about her and Gaara, and the past twenty-four hours. "Yeah. I know what you mean."

Kallou sighed, packing away the last of her journals. All that was left were her pencils and pens. As she hunted for them, Sakura got up to put some deodorant on and sprayed on some perfume. She wondered if it still smelled like sex. She didn't suppose so, but she wasn't very sure. If it did, Kallou hadn't mentioned it.

Sakura stared at the bottom of perfume in her hand, admiring the curvature of the bottle. It was so pretty...

When she looked up from spraying on her perfume, Kallou was gone and so was her stuff. How had that happened? Sakura walked out into the living room, surprised to see that some men were taking Kallou's boxes, and carting them down the hall. Kallou gave her a fleeting smile, and let the guards take her things. It was so... bizarre.

Everyone said their goodbyes, then. Gaara gave her a casual nod, and Kankuro shook hands with her in a very awkward manner. Kai and Naruto gave her hugs, while Kiba opted for a long kiss and Shikamaru gave her a lazy one-armed hug. The guards made a strange face at the last exchange, and then led her down the hall. Just like that, Kallou was gone.

* * *

So they hadn't fucked. But, they were kinda sorta buddies now. Kai and Sasori weren't exactly a couple, but they were something. Kai felt more comfortable with Sasori than she did with Kankuro, even though Sasori completely confused her.

Kai was talking to Sakura again. It was small, conversational talk that didn't really mean much, but it was a step. She didn't miss Kallou as much as she thought she would. Oddly enough, it seemed that Sasori had come just at the right moment. He made her insecure and nervous, but he was so cute about it she couldn't resist- even if he was a cold brute in public and a compeltely different person when they were alone.

Kiba, as it turned out, was a miserable wreck. This was expected, but it didn't make it any easier to watch. It seemed that everyone else had a perect escape though- their semi-significant other. The only one who didn't have anybody was Kankuro.

**Author's Note: So, I suppose you're wondering why Kallou is leaving? Well, her and I had a major falling out- it's irreperable. I couldn't write for her character any longer, or I would have totally torn her apart and been very unprofessional. I didn't want out tiff to ruin the story for the rest of you, so I thought it best to remove the problem. How do you feel about this? (Even if you wish to reply anonymously, feel free to comment, just please be respectful.) **

**Now, back to the story! Did you like the lemon? I wasn't very explicit, but I SOO needed for Gaara and Sakura to bond, and in more ways than one. What did you think? **

**Voter's Corner**

**When do you want the character to come in? **

**A-After visitor's day. **

**B-Before visitor's day. **

**Does Sakura's family come to see her? **

**A-Yes.  
B-No. **

**Who would you like to see as the next target? **

**Also, how does the editing look on chapter 2-6. Better? Worse? :) Let me know people! **

**Is there anything that you feel the story is lacking? Don't be shy, but mind you, be nice. I do put time and effort into this, and I would love to make it better for you all. Don't tear it apart. :) I do want to apologize though- please don't feel like you need to cover your ass or run the risk of having your name in a rant chapter. If you have something negative to say, PLEASE just have info to back it up. Constructive is productive! :D**

**Love you alll! **

**Lauren**


	24. Jealousy of Man

Gaara closed his eyes, inhaling the soft smell of stale breath and old sweat. His brother wreaked. Wrinkling his nose, Gaara glared with apparent distaste at his brother. He couldn't understand why his brother was so torn up over Sakura. He knew that she was, of course, pretty and funny, but Kankuro could have reconciled with Kai. He knew that that must've been where she was headed that night previous when Sasori intercepted her.

Kankuro was crashed on the spare bed in Naruto and Sasuke's room, and they had both complained because he wreaked terribly and refused to leave and rejoin their small society. Gaara figured that it wasn't even the girls he was so torn up over, but the fact that he thought Gaara was trying to steal them from him. Sasori had told him that Kankuro thought it was him fooling around with Kai. Gaara didn't care in particular that Sasori seemed to be looking out for him- he still didn't trust the guy.

He trusted Kankuro, and he was honestly upset that he wouldn't talk to him anymore. It'd been twenty-four hours. Gaara hadn't eaten or drank a thing. He felt like he had swallowed a desert.

Sakura gently beckoned to him from the doorway, not wanting to wake Kankuro and have to endure a slurry of rude profanities. Gaara gave his brother a quick glance to ensure that he was still sleeping before he turned back to Sakura. "What," he mouthed, his eyes pleading for her to go away.

Sakura pointed to herself, and then to Gaara, and pantomimed talking with her hand. She held her hands to indicate the number ten, and then tapped her wrist to indicate that she meant time. Sakura wanted to talk to him in ten minutes.

Sakura walked out into the living room, and plopped down on the couch. Kai was sprawled out watching television, though she pulled her feet up to give her some room.

Kai stared at the television for a moment, and then sighed under her breath. "Is he still taking it hard?"

Sakura nodded, only semi-relieved that Kai was talking to her again. She knew it was a good sign, but she was worried that it would mean more drama in the future. Sakura glanced back to see if Gaara was still in Naruto and Sasuke's room. She sighed softly when she realized that he was.

Glancing around, she noticed that Naruto and Sasuke were passed out on the floor, surrounded by pillows and blankets. She guess that Sasori was in Gaara's room. There was something about that guy- she didn't trust him for a minute. He was so much different than Gaara and Kankuro; she couldn't stand that he was invading everything in their wing.

"So did you fuck Sasori yet?" she asked conversationally, wondering how Kai would reply. She supposed that even if she had slept with Sasori she'd deny it. She was a "good" girl.

"Why?" Kai asked calmly, glancing over to her with apparent interest. "We just talked. Not very much on his end, but he listened to me rant and rave. It was... nice. He didn't tell me I was smart and that I'd be fine like Kankuro did. He offered advice. Why do you care?"

"Well... Kankuro misses you..." admitted Sakura, frowning slightly. She didn't want to air dirty laundry and make Kankuro angry, but she needed to see if there was a way to end Kankuro's suffering and make herself feel better.

"I thought I missed him last night, but I don't. I've seen the way he looks at you; he didn't look at me like that. I hate that you've taken him away from me, but you seem to make him happy. I think that you should be with him if it's what makes him happy," Kai said with a slight shrug. "Unless you've decided on Gaara. You two weren't exactly quiet this morning."

Sakura blushed, turning away. She got up from her seat, walking back to the door to see if Gaara was finishing things up with Kankuro. He was just sitting on the bed opposite of Kankuro, with a helpless expression on his face. It hurt her to see him this way.

She tugged gently on his hand, and he arose with one fluid motion. Sakura reached up, smoothing her right thumb over the ridge of Gaara's left cheek. Gaara trembled, and withdrew in discomfort. Sakura frowned and walked away, knowing that he'd follow her to her room.

* * *

Sasori locked the door to his new room, and immediately set to scouring the files that he'd found hidden beneath Gaara's mattress. He was just leafing through it, trying to find out if there was anything in particular that was interesting about these patients, but he wasn't sure.

Mostly he just wanted to know about the brother he'd been hearing about all of his life, but had never got a chance to meet. He remembered being so jealous growing up- his mother never seemed to remember that she hadn't lost both her sons. He'd been left to his own devices as she tried to figure out how to get her beloved Gaara back. He'd resented Gaara for the longest time, but now he was a little disappointed in himself. He had always missed his brother. Sasori had never known him, or seen him- but he recognized Gaara the minute he walked into their wing.

Sasori hadn't expected him to puke and heave the contents of his stomach onto the floor, but he was glad to meet him. Sasori needed to find out about him. He longed to find out about Kankuro as well- she'd mentioned him as well as their sister Temari only in passing.

Sasori immediately set Gaara and Kankuro's files in front of him, his eyes glued to the pages. He was nervous about what he would find- maybe he and his brother had nothing in common? He tried to be positive, and maintain that everything would check out, but he couldn't be sure. Gaara was different. Sasori knew that he was a cocky bastard, and he owned it. But, most of it was just to get attention. He didn't want to be forgotten, and left to his devices. Gaara seemed like he wanted to melt away and be invisible. Since he obviously couldn't, Sasori supposed he often subjected others to his cruelty in an attempt of having some sort of bond with others- if everyone was as miserable as he was, maybe he wasn't so alone. Sasori had been the class clown, and Gaara had been the creepy kid with the serial-killer potential. Only in this case he didn't look the part.

Sasori knew one thing about his brother just from the sheer weight that his file possessed- he might not have looked like the creepy psycho killer at first glance, but his file sure fit the stereotype. It was at least an inch thicker than all of the other files there, and there were so many sheets of paper completely filled with writing. Sasori wondered if he'd ever have a chance to read it all before Gaara came back to the room and demanded to be let it. He wasn't banking on it.

* * *

"Why does he hate me now?" demanded Gaara, raking a hand through his thick red hair. He was livid. He wasn't as mad at his brother for being a complete and utter dick as much as he was so mad at himself for letting Sakura get so far under his skin. "I hate loving you. It's too much of a fucking hassle."

Sakura paled for a moment, then he cheeks reddened slightly. Had he realized that he'd just casually tossed out that he loved her? Sakura inhaled quickly, deciding it best to not mention that. "He thought he saw you kissing Kai last night. I know it wasn't you, so don't think I'm accusing you, but it was Sasori. I dunno if Kankuro knows that. I heard him right after he left..."

Gaara could hear the distinct crack of her sweet soprano voice as her emotions twisted tighter and tighter around her vocal chords. He didn't bother to tell her that he already knew that- her crying would only make his headache worse. He had an unbearable urge to brush her cotton-candy colored hair behind her ear and kiss her until the watery glimmer of tears left her eyes. He forced himself to bear it, and turned away from her, lacing his hands behind his head. Maybe if he squeezed hard enough he could crush his brain to bits and he wouldn't have to feel anything.

Sakura tried to ignore the desperate feeling rising in her chest. "I don't think he's gonna let me go that easy. Kai... she said he was different with me."

"Of course he was different! You think this is normal for him? He's acting like a fucking basket-case!" protested Gaara, his pupils retracting. His chest heaving, he suddenly felt spent and used. He didn't want to move. He just wanted to be one with the bed, and melt into the stale fabric and lumpy padding. It hit him that they technically all were basket-cases, when you thought of where they were. He didn't seem to care.

Gaara sank to the edge of his bed, all of his energy gone from him. His eyes were growing bloodshot. Licking his lips, he imagined that he was in a classy house, with a huge four-poster bed and curtains. He wished he had curtains here- he hated people being around him when he was sleeping. He always woke up; always felt threatened. Except for Sakura. He knew he was safe around her.

"How long's it been since you last slept, Gaara?" Sakura asked softly, her smooth pink lips puckered with worry. Gaara remembered kissing them very vividly for a moment, the experience rushing back to him. It hit him in the chest like one of his brother's solid punches that he knew could and should've hurt a whole lot worse.

"Dunno. I haven't slept within at least the past two or three days, I guess..." mumbled Gaara, his eyes burning at the mere thought of being awake so long.

"Well then, lay down and go to sleep..." Sakura said incredulously, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

Gaara stared at her stupidly for a minute, blinking slowly. "It's not that easy."

"Well, every time that you've been with me you fell asleep like a baby," countered Sakura, crawling next to Gaara who had lain down. "I'm beginning to think I bore you."

Gaara smirked as she slipped her fingers underneath his shirt. "Anything but."

* * *

Naruto glanced over to Kankuro who was still unconscious to the world. He was terribly sorry that his friend was feeling so terribly, but he was honestly kind of pissed at him. He and Sasuke had just been getting ready to take the final step in their relationship when Kankuro blundered in. They hadn't been in any awkward positions- thanks to some quick maneuvering- but it was still unnerving.

He was highly tempted to go talk to Sakura and demand that she tell Kankuro she took back what she said, and that they could be a happy little 'couple' again- whatever the hell they had been. He knew it wouldn't work, but he was so hot to trot that he'd do anything to be able to fuck Sasuke at the moment. Sasuke wouldn't go for it though- Sasuke needed the mood to be right. Naruto could give a shit less about the mood. He just wanted a toss in the hay, dammit.

He didn't mean to sound promiscuous, but he'd been waiting for that moment. Sure he was the one who dressed more feminine, but he was the more sexual one of the pair. Sasuke was a former sex-freak, so to speak. He had been so accustomed to one night stands that sex was automatic, causing emotional disconnection right after. He didn't want to lose that with Naruto- at least that was what he said.

Naruto lifted his gaze from Kankuro, realizing how long he'd been staring at him disdainfully. Sasuke gave him a sly look, and giggled lightly. "You want me, but you won't have me!"

"Fuck you," snapped Naruto, flinging a pillow at his boyfriend. Sasuke chuckled.

Folding his arms across his chest, Sasuke rose a suggestive brow. "Bet you'd like that, wouldn't you."

Reddening viciously, Naruto jumped down from the top bunk of the bed. His body was roaring. His skin felt as thought it were rippling like a violent ocean of electric currents. He needed to get out and move. Sitting here and debating with Sasuke wouldn't make him feel any better.

He honestly didn't know where he was going to go, but he didn't want to stay there. Today was Sunday. They had no school. He yearned for the next day. Once tomorrow came he'd be able to let out all of his pent up emotion.

Naruto remembered that the one foster parent he'd never hated- she was a crazy old lady named Judie- not Judy, but Judie, spelled just like that. Her parents had been rebels, and wanted to spell her name different. Of course, when you're born in the forties anything rebellious was small potatoes in the modern times. The only time he'd ever been accepted was when he was with a woman who thought he was a little girl. She of course, knew he was a little boy, but she thought that she could have him pretend. She was a truly loveable woman, but she'd preferred a girl. So Naruto had played one for her.

Naruto brushed his fingertips through his hair, yanking at the knots that had formed. He had begun to loathe gelling his hair. Sasuke loved it. Naruto was getting angry thinking about his hair gel. He wandered out to the living room, and grabbed the construction paper and pencil box from underneath the sofa. He needed to finish his art project, and there was no better time for it than now. Especially as wired as he was- and angry. Art always seemed to calm him down and help him think clearly. It didn't require any thought, except for what to do next.

It gave him a morbid sense of control. He could kill his creations, or make them thrive with life. There was never a time when he wasn't in charge of what decision he was going to make- he wished life was like that. There were so many times when Naruto didn't know what he was going to do with himself and the rest of his life. Would he stay in the only true home he'd ever known, or leave and try to rehash his destiny? The answer would never reveal itself so easily- he was sure he'd be left deliberating until the fateful day of his eighteenth birthday. What a quandry that would pose...

Naruto colored in the eyes of his creation, and then frowned. The blue eyes seemed to mock him somehow. He didn't know how but it perturbed him. He longed to lash out and tear the picture apart. He still hadn't given it hair, but that didn't matter.

Naruto scowled, and threw down his pencil to scratch his head. The gel was making him itchy again. Naruto frustratedly picked up his pencil, and carried on with his simple coloring.

A few moments later, he grabbed the pencil box and quickly stomped out of the living room. He couldn't look at that damn picture anymore.

* * *

The walls were closing in on him, and his comfort zone was getting smaller and smaller. Kiba was sitting on his bed, a lean leg hanging over the edge as he tried to avoid looking at any of the walls. He could've sworn that they were pushing in on him, and trying to squeeze the life out of him life toothpaste out of a tube.

It was weird not having her there. She talked to him and stuff, but not all that much. Even still, though, he felt kind of empty. Someone had shot in the chest, through and through, leaving a large, gaping whole that he didn't know how to fix.

When did anyone know how to fix an emotional whole in their being? Some filled it with trivial things like books and movies, and music. Other's ate to feel whole. Some cut themselves. Kiba... Kiba did nothing. He was trying to shut down on himself, but Shikamaru wouldn't let him.

It seemed that whenever Kiba finally got up the gumption to consider taking some of Shikamaru's pills- he knew where the stash was- Shikamaru always talked him out of it. Shikamaru didn't trust Kiba with pills, and Kiba knew that. Shikamaru was more than happy to medicate him, but he'd never leave Kiba alone with the pills.

Shikamaru knew that trying to overdose was not a good idea. He never had the bright, mind-shattering epiphany but he knew that he still had things to do. He wasn't finished with his goal, and he couldn't kill himself and leave others to do the task that God had given him.

Kiba kicked his leg in time to the music that Shikamaru had just put on, bobbing his head to the beat. It had a lively baseline, and a romping drum line that made his soul stir and heart race.

"What is this?" Kiba asked in monotone, admiring the words of "lets burn this city, burn this city," as they began to circulate in his head.

"Franz Ferdinand. This Fire. Up or down?" Shikamaru's voice had the humorous tone of a smile in it- he was beaming. Kiba lifted his eyes to Shikamaru who was leaning against the wall, a wide smile splayed across his flesh-toned lips. His hair was coming out of it's tight up-do, and was hanging into his face. Kiba was momentarily distracted, wondering how on Earth Shikamaru could stand to have such long hair.

Kiba hopped down from the bed, and stretched slowly. "Thumbs up."

Shikamaru nodded, and yawned. He lipped his lips, and then braced his hands against his lower back before bending backwards, resulting in multiple pops and cracks. He sighed, and then rolled his neck. "So, what are we doing today?"

"Sunday. Basically, nothing," muttered Kiba, grabbing a faded gray towel from underneath a small mountain of socks, old shirts, and three text books. After he removed the towel, the books fell to the floor with a solid clatter. Kiba took no notice of it, and headed to his bathroom.

His muscles had all been tight with anxiety lately, and he needed to loosen them up. He threw his towel onto the back of the toilet, and yanked the curtain of the shower back. Kiba smiled sardonically when the water began to come down in a lively, pulsating torrent of bliss. It was cold though, much too cold for his taste.

Pulling the curtain shut to keep from getting the floor soaked, he grabbed the hem of his shirt with one hand and pulled his shirt over his head in a single, languid motion. He bent his leg at the knee, bringing his foot up so that he could pull off his sock without bending over. He did the same with his other foot, and then hooked his thumbs underneath the waistband of his black and red plaid sleep-shorts and boxers. They didn't resist as they crumpled to the floor.

The moment he stepped into the shower, warm water enveloped him like the hug of a long lost lover. Kiba massaged his temples as the water rained down around him, trying to piece together his new lifestyle. He wouldn't be hanging out with Kallou anymore, or talking to her. The best thing for him to do was forget her. It would be a lot easier if he didn't love her.

So he wouldn't. He'd force himself to hate her, even if it killed him. Kiba closed his eyes as the water loosened the muscles that had been wrought with tension for so long, it seemed. Kiba turned around, pressing the flats of his hands against the wall, bracing himself. His head sagged and his eyes closed. Bliss. It was the best he'd felt since she left.

* * *

Sasuke yawned, sitting up on his bed. It was about time he got up. After Naruto had stormed out, he'd laid down on the top bunk and tried to sleep. Last night had been rather eventful. Naruto had almost convinced himself to have sex, and then Kankuro had come to the rescue. Sasuke was terrified of fucking his relationship with Naruto up.

Stretching out after jumping down from his bunk, Sasuke headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He fumbled with the light, his hand scrabbling for the small nub in the darkness. When the light finally came on, he wandered over to the mirror, sighing when he saw the deep circles beneath his eyes.

He pulled the mirror-door open, and grabbed his toothbrush. He paused to squeeze a small amount of toothpaste on it, and then looked down to the faucets as he turned the water on.

Sasuke was greatly surprised to find a sink full of soft, downy hairs. They were blonde, and about all about two-three inches long. He knew almost immediately that it was Naruto's, because no one else had blonde hair. The safety scissors- the plastic kind with the blade guards that they gave to preschoolers- were still sitting on the edge of the sink.

Sasuke stared at the hair for a moment, completely unsure of what the hell he was going to do. More importantly- why the hell did Naruto chop off all of his hair?

* * *

Gaara repressed a smile when he walked out into the living room before lunch. Naruto was sitting on the couch, staring at the television with blank disinterest. His hair was short, and choppy. It looked like a home cut- on anyone else it would've looked terrible.

Sakura loved it. She longed to run her hands through it, and joke as they always had before, but she knew that she'd probably get bitched at by Kankuro. She was regretting ever letting herself like him. It hadn't turned out well for either of them, and she felt terrible for it.

Naruto ran a hand over his head, enjoying the lightness of his head. It was nice. he still had mild bangs and sideburns, but most of his head was closely cut to about a half an inch. He gave Sasuke a cool glance, daring him to say anything negative about his new "improvement."

It would've looked a lot better if he'd taken more time, and had Kai get the back for him, but he'd been too impatient.

Lifting his chin, he grabbed his jacket and headed over to the group as they waited by the door. He was actually excited to go to lunch for the first time in what felt like forever.

* * *

It was quiet as they walked in. Sasori and Gaara led the way to the front of the lunch line- it seemed that they each knew what the other was thinking and anticipating. Kankuro's anger bubbled inside of him, but he tried to quash it for the sake of not being thrown in solitary.

His brother had stolen Sakura from him, and now Sasori was replacing him as Gaara's right-hand man. He would get back at Sasori. He would find a way- even if it killed him.

Stepping past the timid-looking young man in the front of the line, Gaara grabbed a tray from the waiting pile and set it down on the long, horizontal set of bars that was meant for patients to slide their trays along. The nervous patient that Gaara had cut in front of giggled anxiously, and beckoned for Sasori to go before him. Sasori smiled, and patted the man on the head.

Kai watched as the man lifted his head, a relieved and empowered smile crossing his features. Sasori could make anyone feel important, and she didn't know why. She couldn't stand him, and yet she wanted to jump his bones at any chance she got. God, he made her horny.

Once they were all in line, Sakura eyed the food that they had to chose from. She remembered when Kai had first warned her against the meatloaf, and decided against getting any. After grabbing a plate of spaghetti, she selected a package of pre-cut apples and a four ounce carton of orange juice. It's expiration date said it expired three days ago. Sakura smiled slightly, remembering when she used to care about things like that, and how getting sick would bother her so much. She didn't seem to care anymore.

Naruto rested his chin on her shoulder for a minute, and then asked her if she'd be a dear and pass him a fork. She reached to grab him one, and then suddenly he jumped behind her. "Why fork when we can spoon, baby?"

He laughed, and then gave her a tight hug, whispering a request to talk with her later. She laughed, and handed him the fork. "Oh yeah, baby! I'd totally spoon with you later!" She gave him a short, brief look to indicate that she'd see him later. Naruto shivered, reminded very much of Gaara.

She wasn't morphing into the guy or anything, but she was picking up so many of his tendencies. Naruto sighed, stabbing his side of mash potatoes with his fork. He grabbed a jello, and plopped it onto his tray, smiling when Kiba glared at him angrily, for he'd taken the last of the green jello. It was the only kind Kiba ate, and he knew that Naruto was aware of that.

"Trade me your spaghetti, and you can have the jello."

"What? You already have spaghetti, dammit!" protested Kiba, making a grab for his precious jello.

"So? I like spaghetti. Now give me the damn pasta, or I'm gonna lick your fucking jello," snapped Naruto, holding out his hand in wait of the plate of spaghetti. Kiba scowled and shoved his plate of spaghetti at the blue-eyed man before him, snatching up the jello in record time. "Thank you, oh wise keeper of the jelly blobs!"

Kiba smiled, unable to stay mad at Naruto for more than a few moments. "You're such a fucking douche."

Sasori glanced back at them, perfectly at ease in his new surroundings. He was well aware of what was "wrong" with all of them. He couldn't wait to push their buttons. However, he was also confronted with the want of befriending them and driving them crazy at the same time. It was profound. He'd never met people that he wanted to like him, even though he wanted to drive them bat shit. They had a bizarre quality and charisma about them- there was no denying that. Sasori understood that the only doctor that seemed to find that in them was Tsunade, but maybe only people as crazy as they were could appreciate them.

Shikamaru got a tray full of food, and then yawned drowsily, asking Kiba if he could carry the tray for him. Kiba rolled his eyes, but obliged anyway. The whom they'd all cut in front of gave them a strained smile as they departed for their usual table, turning around to tell the man behind him that he was relieved by their leaving.

When they approached their table, the few choice people that had decided to sit there immediately scattered. Everyone was eyeing Sasori- he felt like the new kid at school. He was used to it, though.

He'd been the new kid at school approximately thirty four times, and that was just after the start of middle-school. Mommy had a problem dealing with the people at his schools. Said they told her things she didn't understand. The frankasters in her head told her that they wanted to take Sasori away from her, and tie him up with strings. Mommy didn't want a thoughtless puppet for a child, she said, so she always moved him once the school "got it's hooks in him." Basically, once he made friends.

As they ate, they discussed things as usual. It was exhilarating for most of them to be in public again, in full view of those who were terrified of them. This was what kept Gaara going- they hated him, but they revered him at the same time. He was a God, and they were the lowly people that worshipped him.

Sakura ate slowly, staring openly at Gaara as he ate. He returned the stare with his own- but now it was sardonic and completely suggestive. She would scrape everything off of the table and do him right then and there if she knew that she wouldn't get reprimanded for it. But, that would just make it more exciting.

Kankuro angrily stabbed his food as he watched them shoot googly eyes back and forth to each other. Next to him, Sasuke put his hand on Kankuro's knee, and shook his head slightly. Kankuro knew that Sasuke was trying to tell him to calm down, and that she wasn't worth it, but Kankuro couldn't help it. He couldn't talk to anyone else like he could to Sakura. He didn't blabber on and on about how to fix things like Kai did- she would shut up and listen. It was comforting.

Naruto watched the small exchange, bristling suspiciously. He brushed a hand over his head, noting the strange patches that didn't mesh with the rest of his hair. He was desperate for Sakura to fix his hair. He needed to talk to her, and explain everything that was running through his mind. He was so confused!

The whole day was confusing to him. He didn't remember why he cut off all of his hair, but he knew that it had felt good- liberating even! Naruto cast his eyes down into his lap, his appetite for spaghetti anything but gone. However, if he ate anymore he'd throw up.

Gaara cast Naruto a side-long look, trying to figure out what was wrong with him. He honestly didn't care to find out, but he didn't want one of his few friends to be hurting. It was different, having people that he cared about. He'd used to think that it made him weak- Yashamaru had always hurt him even though he was supposed to have loved him. Lately, he'd come to realize that love wasn't associated with pain as it had always been. Being in love was like getting high- he yearned for it. It was nice to want something for once, instead of yearning to destroy everything within his grasp.

* * *

Tsunade was waiting for them. That never seemed to be a good sign. It reminded more than one of them of sneaking out late at night, and then upon returning home they'd find their mother or father sitting patiently on their bed- waiting.

In their case, their parental figure was not very patient and she wasn't sitting on their bed. She was sitting at all. In fact, she was pacing back and forth in front of the couch in the living room. Their new items were here.

"Hello! Um, well, I'm here to inform you that your new roommate is here! She was originally going to get here after visitor's day, to keep everything from being weird, but... Well, there was a complication at her old facility. I'm really proud of you guys- you've come a long way since I first put you all together.

Now, I know that you're all going to be polite, and treat her as part of the family, right? I see that Sasori has fit right in, hasn't he?"

Gaara anxiously grabbed at the small pager that he had in his pocket, ready to press the button immediately. He didn't know if he could deal with anyone else coming in just yet. He hoped to go it wasn't another man- there was already enough testosterone in this place for a lifetime. Men cooped up with men led to fights. Everyone knew that. Then he remembered that it was a girl, even though the name sounded suspiciously manly.

"Rafaela is using the facilities at the moment," Tsunade informed, politely pointing out that Rafaela was using the toilet. "She prefers to be called Fae, so- you know, just a heads up! Um, I hope you all get along. If there's any trouble, tell your teacher about it, or a guard at dinner this evening. Your Wii has been set up, and there are a few games waiting for you. I hope that you'll all remember that if you break it, you won't get a new one unless you pay for it. I have to get to a session now, so I'll see you all later. I'll meet with you in about two days to see how you're all settling in. If I don't get a chance, I'm terribly sorry. My assistant is out on pregnancy leave, and I've had to cover everything! Ciao ciao!"

With that impromptu farewell, Tsunade practically fled. At the precise moment that the door closed behind Tsunade, Rafaela emerged from the bathroom, and took a few steps toward the middle of the living room. When she realized that Tsunade was no longer there, she froze. Looking over to see the entirety of the wing staring at her, she blanched and gasped in surprise. Before anyone could even introduce themselves, she turned around and ran back into the bathroom. They looked terrifying. The men were dark and brooding, and the girls looked terribly irritated.

That wasn't the case though- since they'd moved in with each other, they'd sort of formed one giant miserable mass. Kai wasn't as bubbly, and Sakura was only medium melancholy.

Sakura sighed, mildly irritated the girl was already terrified of them. "Would you quit it with the dirty looks, Kankuro? She's scared enough as it is!"

Kankuro sneered at her, and stomped off to his room. He slammed the door behind him, and Gaara was almost certain that he heard the girl squeak from within the bathroom. She was a jumpy little one. He hoped that she'd last. Of course, Sakura had seemed almost excessively weak when she first got there as well.

"She's probably just nervous. Let's go talk to her," sighed Kai, giving Sakura a tight smile. "It'll be a good chance for us to 'bond over teamwork' as those dumb fuckers in the white coats would say."

Sakura nodded, her wan cheeks pulling back into a genuine smile. It was reassuring to be forgiven- now if only Kankuro would forgive her.

They eventually got her to come out, after she admitted that she thought they were going to string her up by her ankles and play pinata with her. Naruto was surprised that she thought they were that scary. They were quite harmless really, unless you were the scum of the earth. They were a clean-up crew, and as long as she didn't get filthy they wouldn't have to scrub her off the bottoms of their shoes.

**Gah! It seems like it's been so long!**

**A- So, do they act nice, and let her join their little family?**

**B- Or do Gaara and Sasori tear her apart?**

**Part deux!**

**C- Do Sakura's parents come to see her, as well as Sai?**

**D- Only the parents, or only Sai? (You'd better specify or your vote won't count!)**

**Part trois!**

**E- It's lemon time again!**

**F- I want to see some cuddling dammit! Or... maybe some getting high and feeling all disfunctionally family like!**

**Part quatre!**

**Gimme a lemon with...**

**G. Sasori x Kai**

**E. Gaara x Sakura**

**F. Kankuro x Sakura**

**H. Kiba x ? (mystery option, muahaha!)**

**Part cinq**

**I. I want them to play Just Dance (2) on the Wii!**

**J. Dammit! Where's the fucking first-person shooter games, you stupid son of a bitch?**

**Alright, review please, sorry for the multitude of options,lol. :) DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS!**


	25. New and Old, Always Alone

Fae leaned onto the sink in her bathroom. It smelled faintly of strawberries, jasmine, and some other unidentifiable perfume she couldn't place. All of their perfumes had been removed from the original containers and placed into plastic perfume bottles- they couldn't be breaking their bottles and shanking each other now could they? Fae had been informed, before she moved into the wing, that even though they were scary patients, they had been behaving and had worked up to the more privileged ranks. They had supposedly earned their niceties because if they were being bad- well, no one could catch them doing it. She'd also heard that one of their roommates had died, but Tsunade hadn't bothered to confirm it with her.

Her dusky blue eyes were bloodshot. Light lavender streaks crossed through the irises at random, like a snake through a cornfield. Fae glanced down at the sink, admiring the cool metal ring around the drain. She liked shiny things. The brightness seemed to dim the chaotic thoughts swirling through her mind. She was a mild schizophrenic, which she utterly loathed. Sometimes the medicine worked, but others it didn't. It only seemed to make it worse.

Fae lifted her hands from the edge of the sink, and dipped them under the water running out of the faucet. She scrubbed her face well, and then toweled her face off with the soft-looking pink washcloth that peaked out from underneath her toiletry bag. She was tired, but she was honestly terrified of going back into the bedroom. Gaara was with Sakura right now, and they were getting freaky on Sakura's bed. Fae was almost certain that when she walked back into the room, at least one of them would be shirtless. Or naked. Who knew?

Taking her time to brush all of her hair back, Fae pulled her hair into a tight ponytail, and then sat down on the toilet after putting the sturdy lid down. She utterly hated it here. Granted, Sakura and Kai had been suspiciously nice to her, she couldn't stand any of the guys. One of them looked like he had been mauled by a rabid, scissor-brandishing fiend, and the others just looked like they had sadistic thoughts running through their mind.

* * *

Gaara snickered darkly, and kissed Sakura with excessive force. "Moan, Sakura. It'll freak the shit out of her!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, a giggle curving her dark-pink lips. She produced a loud, keening moan that Gaara could recognize was fake. Lucky for her. If she was a good faker, then she'd have a lot of explaining to do. It was passable though, as far as moans were concerned. Gaara raked his teeth across her shoulder, kissing her collar bone- this time the soft moan that left her lips wasn't fake at all.

"I will fuck you right now, I swear to God! Me and you are a team now. We're gonna drive this kid nuts, and if she can take it, then she's got fucking stones." Gaara unbuttoned Sakura's shirt, and brushed his cheek against her breast in a bizarrely loving manner.

"Gaara! You may not care if she sees me naked, but I do! Just because it's a girl doesn't mean I want her first impression of me is to see me naked, and rolling around with you! Hearing me is completely another!" protested Sakura in a tight, soft hiss. She yanked her shirt back together, buttoning it quickly. Gaara's eyes darkened, and he rested his forehead against hers.

"You didn't have a problem with Kankuro seeing you naked," snapped Gaara, pressing his forehead against hers. His eyes bore angrily into hers. Sakura's eyes hardened slightly, trying to steel the regret bubbling up beneath the surface.

"That's different! He... He was there for me when you weren't. What was I supposed to do? I probably shouldn't have had sex with him, but he talks to me! He listens when I'm upset! You just... you just ru-you leave me."

"I came back, didn't I?" smirked Gaara, pressing his lips against hers in a suprisingly gentle way. Sakura exhaled through her nose, and pulled back slightly.

"Are you gonna leave again, though? I feel safe with Kankuro-" Sakura broke off when she saw the look of displeasure boiling up in Gaara's eyes. The rest of his face remained stoic.

"Shut up," he snapped quickly, taking her face into his hands. "I'll make you miserasble. Would you rather I chase after the new girl?" Gaara smirked when he saw the rage cloud her sight. She was obviously repressing the urge to slap him. Sakura instead opted to pinch his earlobe. "I'm with you. If I didn't want to be, I wouldn't keep coming back."

"Don't you dare touch her. I'll fuck your brother," she snapped, pressing her knee against his crotch. He chuckled, raking his his perfect teeth across her exposed shoulder. Sakura gasped plaintively, her finger tips scrabbling across his shoulders. He knew she was just teasing.

"Come on, Kankuro already hates me for that! Don't fucking-"

"Not Kankuro! Sasori. I can just think of you while I do it, since you two look so similar," Sakura smiled, kissing him on the nose. "I don't want to- he's too fucking arrogant for my taste. I'm just playing, but... I do feel bad about Kankuro though... Do you think he'll ever forgive me?"

Gaara laughed humorlessly, and shook his head in disgust. "Forgive you? It's me he hates!"

"He doesn't hate you... He just wants to chop your balls off," Sakura expressed, raising a sympathetic brow.

Gaara stared at her for a moment, his cool blue eyes widening for a fraction of a second before they narrowed curiously. "He wants to chop my balls off?"

Sakura averted her eyes for a second and then smiled slightly. "He mutters under his breath sometimes..."

Gaara couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Sasori swore under his breath, trying to mirror the motions on the little television screen. Kankuro was sulking on the couch, watching his red-haired brother flopping around in front of the television, in a frustrated manner. Sasori really wasn't that bad at it, but he was getting frustrated.

Kankuro scowled, running his hands through his hair. He'd hadn't felt this lost in a long time. He couldn't remember the last time he'd wanted to hurt someone so badly. It was confusing though because just as much as he wanted to hurt Gaara he wanted to talk to him and share secrets with him as he had only a week or so ago.

Sasori didn't notice when Kankuro got up and walked sullenly back to his room. He did notice when Naruto came galloping through the room, however. Naruto careened into Sasori, sending both of them crashing to the floor. Sasori grunted as his head connected with the side of the sofa, against a brace of wood.

Naruto howled as his arm bent awkwardly underneath of him, and Sasori looked over to him almost curiously. There was a small laceration to the bridge of Sasori's nose, and blood leaked lazily from the opening. Sasori scooted closer to Naruto, his long fingers curling easily around Naruto's wrist. Naruto whimpered, then gasped when Sasori turned his hand over.

"You probably have a small fracture," muttured Sasori. He sighed, and then pinched the bridge of his nose-something he did when he was aggravated. His aggravation grew as the song ended, and his points were ranked up. "Shit. I just lost."

Naruto smiled sheepishly when Sasori pulled his hand away from his face. Sasori was mildly surprised to see the blood that clung to his fingertips, but the brief expression was quickly replaced with one of boredom and irritation.

Kankuro opened his door, mildly interested in the lack of noise. When he saw Sasori and Naruto sitting on the floor, with Sasori calmly addressing Naruto, he wondered what on earth had happened. Before he could he follow the thought much longer, he pushed it aside, concluding that Naruto and Sasori were now buddy-buddy. He didn't want to be around it any longer than he had to.

He heard a door open just as he was getting ready to close his own, and was surprised to see Kiba sulking out of his room. There was a dreadfully sad look on the kid's face, and Kankuro couldn't help but feel somewhat remorseful for his own behavior-sure he didn't have Sakura to himself as he wanted, but Kiba didn't even have a chance to fight for Kallou. She was just... gone.

Kiba scowled suddenly, wandering over to Sakura's door. Kankuro's jaw dropped when Kiba unzipped his pants, and promptly pulled out his member so that he could urinate on the door.

Both Naruto and Sasori were watching now, neither of them sure of what was going on. Kankuro laughed slightly, and then closed his door. He supposed he could be worse off; pissing on other people's doors was something he hoped he'd never do.

* * *

Fae quickly scurried past Gaara and Sakura who were still rolling around on the bed. She had just enough time to notice that Gaara didn't have a shirt on, and that from what she could see he had a fantastic body. Fae didn't focus long on either of those observations; it wasn't helpful to daydream about what she couldn't have and honestly didn't want. It was rather dangerous, considernig what she'd heard about him.

She quickly opened the door, moving to step outside. A harsh squeal of indignation left her when she was met with a hot jet of piss which quickly trickled down her side and thighs. She stood there stupidly for a second, glaring at him as his eyes went wide with surprise. He hastily finished, shook twice, and then put himself away before sprinting back to his room. Fae slammed the door, tears already streaming down her cheeks.

How could this happen to her on her first day here? Fae was in the bathroom, yanking off her clothing before she slammed the bathroom door shut. Humiliation rippled through her as she peeled off the now disgusting clothing. Her heart leaped into her throat when someone knocked tentatively on the door.

"Are you okay? I swear that never happens!" Sakura's voice sounded muffled, and then it rang out clearly again. "Do you have your other clothes yet?"

"No!" Fae responded desperately, pouring shampoo on her pants. They smelled terrible already. She didn't want to touch them, but she needed to get the smell out somehow.

There was a brief period of silence on the other side of the door as Fae tried to repress sobs of panic and frustration. Why did bad things always have to happen to her? "I'm going to get out some of my clothing, okay? You can wear those..."

At first it was silent on the other side of the door, and then scuffling sounds were made as Sakura looked for clothing. Fae sank onto the toilet seat with a sense of defeat, completely unsure of what to do next. Her tender heart beat a little more easily, completely surprised by the sudden hospitality. Fae sighed when Sakura knocked tentatively before opening the door a crack.

"Can I come in?" Sakura smiled sheepishly, and then pushed her hand, which held the clothing, through the opening. "Gaara's gone."

Fae nodded, her hands draped across her lap with a defeatist attitude. Sakura sighed, glancing into the bathtub where Fae's now ruined clothing lay in a wet, disgruntled heap. Fae slipped on the shirt that Sakura offered her, and sheepishly thanked her.

"I know he's weird, but honestly he's never done this before. His girlfriend got switched out of our ward because her behavior had improved so much. I feel bad for the guy..." admitted Sakura, averting her eyes as Fae stepped into the shorts that Sakura had offered her.

They both departed from the bathroom and into the bedroom. Fae smelled fresh and clean again, and was ready to brave the rest of the wing. She wasn't going to let Kiba ruin this for her.

* * *

Sakura slipped into Gaara's room, closing the door silently behind her. Gaara was laying on the bottom bunk, using his thumb nail to trace designs in the sheets. Kankuro was laying in the other bunk, his hand dangling over the edge of the bed. Sakura bit her lip and glanced to Gaara, as if asking for confirmation that it was okay for her to be in there.

"Gaara, give her a break for the rest of the day. I think she's traumatized enough. Please, just wait til' tomorrow to terrorize her further. We don't need her committing suicide. Then Tsunade will be all over us like she was when Shikamaru overdosed and nearly killed himself."

Gaara glared at her in irriation, but otherwise said nothing.

"Also..." Sakura shifted her weight from her left foot to her right, then back to then left, and finally settled on leaving it on her right foot. "I think it's time we settled this..."

"Settled what?" snapped Kankuro, sitting up. He raked a large, sinewy hand through his hair. Gaara stood up, turning to look at his brother, noting the sweaty hair and disgruntled demeanor.

"This. This whole fucked up whatever this is," Sakura rambled, gesticulating wildly to indicate the three of them in the situation. "Kankuro... I'm sorry about what happened. I didn't... I don't know what happened to me, but I wasn't being my self..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... You don't know what happened, yada, yada, you still wanna be friends. We weren't even exactly friends before... How the Hell did this happen?" Kankuro asked, his eyes focused on his hands. His thumbs warred restlessly with one another as he avoided Sakura and Gaaras' gazes.

"Gaara... Say something," pressure Sakura, turning to look at him with panic stricken features.

Gaara glared at her and elbowed her in the ribs with enough pressure to make her mouth clamp shut, but not enough to actually hurt her. "... Kiba pissed on the new girl."

Kankuro looked up at Gaara, his features lightening slightly. "Yeah, I saw that. Naruto ran into Sasori, and probably broke his wrist."

Gaara and Kankuro chuckled darkly, and Sakura's mouth fell open slightly. Was this how they apologized? She ran both of her hands through her hair, briefly remembering how Gaara had put Nair in her shampoo. She wondered what would happen if she pissed him off again, promptly deciding she didn't want to find out.

* * *

Sasori stared into the mirror, scrunching his eyes into little slivers of sight as he stared at himself critically. The bridge of his nose was slightly ruddy in color, a small seam of crusted, dry blood running horizontally across.

He picked at it in agitation, scraping with the edge of his thumbnail. He sighed and then braced his hands against the sink, his lower back beginning to ache. His stomache trembled momentarily, and then rejected its contents. Sasori realed back from the sink, a low sigh escaping him.

He whiped his mouth with the back of his right wrist, glancing into the mirror as he did so. He avoiding looking at the dried blood on his face, and turned on the water so that the vomit would wash down. He closed his eyes as it swirled down the drain and out of sight. It had been a while since the sight of his own blood made him vomit.

* * *

Naruto cradled his arm to his side, opening his eyes every so often to observe Sasuke sleeping. He was debating on whether or not he should wake Sasuke and seek advice for his problem, or let the man sleep and bug him later.

A loud sound outside the door caused him to flinch, an action which jolted his injured arm into a position which caused him much pain. Naruto let out a low gasp, scrunching his eyes tightly together. Sasuke stirred slightly, and Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly as Sasuke's arms shot into the air; he was stretching.

The long, pale, slightly muscled arms plopped back to the bed and then Sasuke sat up slowly. His black hair stuck up in a multitude of directions and Naruto smiled gently.

Sasuke rubbed his eyes and yawned as he took in Naruto's disheveled appearance. "What happened to you?"

"Uhm, well... Sasori-"

"Did he do that to your arm?" Sasuke suddenly seemed much more awake. He was off of the bed and inspecting Naruto's arm before Naruto could even think of protesting. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as Naruto began to try to explain.

"I was running around and he was playing Wii, and then we bumped into each other and I fell on it! It's not his fault!"

"Are you sure? If he so much as touched you..." Sasuke's eyes were furtive and anxious as they bored into Naruto's. Naruto nodded somberly, and Sasuke sighed in defeat. "Well... we've got to get you to the doctor then. The nurse comes by every half hour doesn't she?"

Again, Naruto nodded. Sasuke smiled softly and kissed Naruto on the forehead ."Everything will be okay. I just hope Sasori doesn't develope the whole 'stick-in-ass' syndrome."

Naruto howled with laughter for a good two minutes, his shrieks of laughter giving way to soft sobs. It hurt to laugh so much, but the pain was worth it.

* * *

It was the day that half of them had been dreading. Visitor's day. Of course, it was accepted to have visitors when it wasn't visitors day, but on this day it was an open house of sorts so that the patients' families could visit and converse with the instructors and doctors and see how everyone was doing.

The parents in particular were keen on seeing how well their precious little children were coming along with their progress. In most cases, they left pleased as punch and felt secure with the thought that their youth offspring were on the road to recovery and would soon be home.

Those feelings didn't usually register with the family of any patients from the South Wing. Their family either stopped visiting, or left feeling worse about things than before.

Naruto was pleasantly surprised to see he had a visitor today, which was highly unusual for him. He sat next to Sasuke, flicking his cast in a bored manner. Sasuke smacked his hand away and began to doodle on the cast. naruto chuckeld.

"What a fun word. Doodle. Doooooooodle," laughed Naruto, running his free hand over where his hair used to be. The stubble felt interesting and cool. "I wonder who came up with that word..."

"Who cares," muttured Kankuro. "Why do you have a visitor?"

Naruto shrugged, then wilted slightly when Sasuke glared at him for causing him to screw up what he was drawing. Kankuro smiled ryely, wondering what he was going to do for the rest of Visitor's Day.

Sasori, Gaara, and Sakura had settled for the lame game of would-you-rather, while Kiba casually itched behind his ear with heel. He was garnering many stares from both visitors and patients. He didn't notice.

Fae and Kai were discussing random trivial things; no one bothered to pay attention to the topic of their covnersation as it changed so often.

Tsunade started towards them after a few moments, an eldery woman walking with her. They crossed the room quite slowly, but it didn't take long for Naruto to see who was walking with her.

"Neenee!" Naruto let out a gasp, and jumped up from the short concret wall they were all sitting on, and took off at a blind run towards the elderly woman.

"Oh, baby, it's been so long," she cooed, taking his large hand in both of her smaller ones. Her watery blue eyes crinkled in joy as a soft smile crossed her wrinkly features. "I didn't know where they moved you after you went back to the... Oh it doesn't matter now; Ive finally found you!"

Naruto couldn't repress his tears of happiness as he enveloped her in a hug. "Tsunade, did you find her for me?"

"Yes... I'm going to need to talk to you both after you have your visit. We have a lot to discuss." Tsunade spoke, using her fingers to brush her long, golden locks back into a messy bun. Naruto smiled his appreciation as he and the elderly woman walked off to a table to catch up.

"Who's that?" Sasori asked his brother almost inaudibly. His lips barely moved.

"Later. Things to show you," whispered Gaara. Sakura looked up the sound of his voice catching her ears. Sasori's reciprocal nod was barely noticeable. He was just as stoic as Gaara. They both had the same uneasy look about them; arms folded across their chests, tall, looming figures, and dark gazes that struck fear into the hearts of all orderlies.

Gaara's gaze flutteredd to the door as it creeked open, and he lazily took in the newest occupent of the room. He noticed someone who looked vaguely familiar, and glanced back to see Sakura. Something felt wrong, but he wasn't sure what. His stomach bottomed out when he saw Sakura with Tsunade, biting his lip as he watched the two of them approach the man with dark hair.

He raked his mind, trying to remember who it was. He couldn't stop thinking about Sakura, in her dress with her hair all done up. She'd looked beautiful, and had this radiating inner beauty... Gaara's breath wheezed into his chest when he realized it was Sai that he'd seen, and lurched forward into an upright position.

Sasori shifted next to him, noticing the sudden change in his brother's demeanor. Kankuro gave him a dark look, while Gaara ignored the both of them. He pushed off from the wall, and fluidly maneuvered his way through the crowd, his lip curling in distaste at the sight of Tsunade's vice grip on Sakura's arm.

Tsunade sat the pink-haired girl down at a small table, and Sai sat down heavily, letting out a low grunt of fatigue. Gaara moved behind a family of six portly beings who had come to visit their anorexic family member, hiding from Tsunade's view as she made her way back to the center of the room to help others. He knew she'd see him at some point. But, all he needed was to get to the table. He knew she'd try to stop him from getting there and he couldn't let that happen.

Gaara sat down at the table nearest to Sakura's, and listened in. He wanted to know what Sai was up to before he jumped the gun. He needed some information.

"What do you want, Sai?" Sakura crossed her legs angstily, licking her lips as she furrowed her brows in distaste.

Sai shifted leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table. He sighed heavily, and then leaned back, his forearms lazily resting on his svelt thighs. "Don't you miss me at all?"

Sakura snorted under her breath, and ran a tired hand through her hair. "I used to, yeah."

Gaara could hear the pain in Sai's slow exhalation. "I miss you. Your parents want you to come home, but Tsunade says you're not ready..."

Sakura said nothing, instead choosing to stare at her hands. It was disconcerting. Where was the vile, villain of a man she remembered? Her heart ached with the need to escape.

"Don't you want to come home? You've gotten worse since you've been here!" pressed Sai, his voice taking on an urgent, pleading tone.

Sakura stared at the tabletop, stricken. It was a question she'd hadn't thought about. Did she want to leave? She bit her lip, using her thumb to scrape against the chipping paint on the corner of the table. Sai's hand covered hers, causing her to flinch at the unexpected physical contact.

Gaara's facial expression remained impassive as he sat and watched the strange interaction. He hadn't expected Sai to be so calm and... soothing. He was understanding, and gentle... everything that Gaara knew he was not.

"Please... don't touch me," mumured Sakura, folding her arms across her chest and shivering like she was cold. "Why didn't they come if they miss me so much?"

"Tsunade advised them not to. She didn't think they'd want to see you like this. It would only make them feel worse..." Sai bit his lip when he saw her eyes narrow with hurt and guilt. He hastily spoke again, hoping his words would comfort her. "She thought that you might be ready in a month to see them, though. She says you've been making progress, just not as much as she'd like to see..."

Sakura's features hardened and smoothed over almost as quickly as they had crumpled. Sai licked his lips and sighed, running a rough hand through his tousled black hair.

Gaara's stomach churned when Sakura lifted her eyes to meet Sai's gaze. She didn't even know that he was watching them two of them, and looking out for her to make sure that she didn't get hurt... It seemed to him that he was the one being hurt, not her. How could she ever love him like she loved Sai? He no longer wanted to destroy her emotionally as he had when she first arrived. The tables had turned and she was the destroying him.

"I still love you, Sakura," whispered Sai, biting his lip as he took in her response. "Every day I think about you and wonder when you'll be ready to come home."

"You stopped loving me the minute you slept with Ino..." she muttured, sitting back from the table. Sai's face contorted momentarily as if she was trying to remember what she was talking about. He looked completely confused.

"What... I mean... I'll always love you, Sakura. No matter what..." Gaara watched as Sais foot began to jiggle nervously. "I think about you all the time..."

"I know... me too." Sakura avoided Sai's gaze. "I just don't know if I love you anymore, Sai."

" I see... you've found somene else, haven't you?" Sai murmured, his voice cracking.

Sakura nodded, and smiled slightly. "He's different. He makes me crazy, and so mad..." Gaara's heart dropepd with her words, and he bit his lip so hard that it began to turn white. "But he also makes me happy... I think I love him, but I can't tell him that. He's very... well he's just him."

Sai sat quietly for a moment, and then chuckled. "I guess you really are crazy. You two deserve each other... I guess I'm not psycho enough to make you happy."

"Shut the fuck up! Who the hell do you think you are? You don't even know him."

" I don't need to know him, Sakura, " snapped Sai. "I can't do this right now. I didn't come here to argue. I came here to see if you'd gotten better, and if there was any chance of you getting better, and getting out of here. But, I guess I was wrong. You'll never be ready to leave here. Especially not since you've fallen in love with the place."

Gaara's heart was pumping. He was itching to deck the dark-haired man in the face. Sakura finally realized he was there, and turned bright pink. Gaara's eyes flickered to Sai, back to her, and then back to Sai again. His fisted hands rested on top of his thighs. Sakura shooked her head left and right, ever so slighty. An obvious "no."

"Sakura... I hope you're happy with him... I really do... I guess I just need to move on, huh? I'll still come to visit you, no matter what. Deep down, I'll always love you. I just hope he doesn't hurt you. Lord knows I already have." Sai cleared his throat, signalled to Tsunade, and stood up to leave.

Tsunade walked over quickly, her heels clickety-clacks adding to the boisterous hum of the room. She absently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, somethign that Gaara knew she did when she was nervous. He smiled slightly, because she was staring straight as him. He knew that she had to be wondering what he'd said to Sai, and whether or not Sai was going to put in a formal complaint.

"Something wrong?" Tsunade licked her lips, and rose her eyebrows, expecting the worst.

"No... I'm done for the day. I don't want to upset her, or say anything I might regret..." exhaled Sai shakily, his voice strife with emotions.

Tsunade smiled sympathetically, and nodded. "Visiting can be very difficult... Would you go on ahead out? I need to speak with someone very briefly. I'll meet you in the hallway."

Sai nodded, and exited quickly. His ground-eating stride took him to the door quite quickly.

"Gaara... did you do anything you shouldn't have?"

Gaara chuckled humorlessly and rose to his feet. "Didn't even know I was here."

With that, he walked away. Tsunade shook her head in confusion, and then scurried after Sai, her heels clickety-clacking so loudly that Sakura wondered if her brain would explode. Sakura sighed, realizing that once again she was alone. Why did she always end up alone? She was beginning to think it was a trend.

* * *

**So this isn't all that I promiseddd. But it's been a long time and getting this out took my forevahh. So I just thought I'd doo what felt right and then stop thereee. [; **

**I'm gonna have the Gaara and Sakura lemon. I promisee. And I'll fix things up with Sakuraa. She was never meant to be such a bad girl! :/ I just got lost along the way. I also have a NEW direction for the story, completely unlike I was planning. **

**Which do you prefer?  
A.] The gang comes to the group decision to PRETEND to be normal, so that they can be released? [This way they can continue their clean-up ways outside the facilities.] **

**B.] They are resigned to the fact that they will never leave, and decided to kill who they can, while they can? **


	26. Revolting Revelations

NARUTO SHIFTED HIS gaze from the wall-clock which was ticking so dreadfully slow. Life seemed to be moving in slow-motion today. It was one of those productive days when his brain swirled with such wonderful ideas... He wouldn't remember them all tomorrow. He often resorted to writing the ideas down, but he couldn't write all of these down. There were just too many...

The more he tried to focus on his work, the more distracted her became. Naruto's mind was working against him today. He had pictures he wanted to draw, and stories to write, things to say, people to hug, people to thank, people to love... It was a bittersweet gift that he had. He was immeasurably creative and passionate. But warring ideas often kept him from building on one. He had problems finishing things.

Tsunade said it was more of a mental block than anything. She said that he needed to figure out his future, and what he wanted from life. Naruto thought her theory was complete and utter bullshit on one hand, but on the other it made complete sense to him. She said he was afraid to believe it.

Her hypothesis was that he didn't ever think things through, and he never planned for his future because he didn't ever see himself getting better and leaving this place. Tsunade told him that was one of the flaws of his personality. He could see such beauty in others, but could never see the beauty of his own personality.

Kakashi paused his lecture on Roman architecture and asked Naruto if he'd like to come draw an example of what a roman building who have looked like in that time period. Naruto's heart raced for a moment, and then he smiled. Kakashi wasn't trying to put him on the spot. He was trying to help him out.

Naruto accepted the slim piece of chalk from Kakashi's long-fingered hand with a gentle smile. His left hand cupped the back of his head, feeling the short, course hairs that were cropping up. He desperately wished he hadn't hacked off his hair, but he couldn't change the past.

He was, however, recreating it right before everyone's eyes.

Naruto could hear Kai's appreciative exhalation, and he repressed a proud smile. They were the true artists of the class, but their styles differed greatly.

Naruto's ears perked slightly at the sound of Gaara's voice. The deep tenor tones were followed by short soprano whispers which he could easily pick out as Sakura's voice. He wondered idly what they were talking about. With a grunt of frustration he realized that he'd started drawing a face into the side of the structure he was drawing. He smoothed it out with a few strokes of the dusty chalk, and then moved on to the pillars.

TenTen scooted her chair back loudly, and Naruto turned around. She needed to blow her nose. She was getting sick. Naruto frowned when she cast him a dirty look, and resumed his work.

Sasuke smiled, glad that Naruto was finally able to do something that didn't' drive him nuts. The poor guy had been going out of his mind trying to sit there and behave.

When Naruto finished his drawing, he stepped back with a shy smile on his face. Kakashi beamed at him, his dark eyes crinkling in delight. He had done well. "All right, Naruto. Great work, I love it. Please take your seat, if you would... Now... back to the time of the Romans... "

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

LATER THAT DAY, after the usual classes had ended, Gaara lay curled up in his bed. He stared at the ceiling, a prickling sense of distress rippling through him. Something was wrong. He'd been feeling it for the longest time, but he couldn't bring himself to investigate it for fear of... He wasn't sure what he was afraid of. He already knew that he was certifiably insane, but to further cement that idea would hurt him beyond words.

Not knowing would hurt even more, though. Gaara sucked in a tortured breath and crawled onto the floor. Rolling onto his back, he grabbed a hold of the metal frame with his shaky hands and pulled himself under the bed. Tucked neatly beneath the metal supports, were the files that held pertinent information on each of the patients in his dorm. Pulling the lot of them free, he quickly ducked back out from underneath his bed.

Gaara sat cross legged on the floor as he, now calm, flipped through the various manila folders. He was always more calm when actually performing the task he spent so long worrying about. When he found the file he needed, he plucked it from the rest and set it on the floor, next to his left knee. He matter-of-factly tapped the files against his leg to straighten them out into a uniform stack, settling it precisely six inches from to the right from his right knee.

He shifted the file that he had sat on the left slightly to the right and flipped it open. A frown crossed Gaara's features as his fingers nimbly leafed through the various elements of the file: a medical history, academic records, hospital records, detailed information about the various mental ailments and reasons for institutionalization, numerous notes scrawled in Tsunade's usually neat sometime hasty scrawl. Some of the notes were paper clipped in, having been written on the yellowed pages of a legal pad. Others were written on sticky notes, lazily pressed on top of other pages. Gaara had nearly memorized the file, as he had all the others.

It came as no surprise to Gaara when he noticed that pages were missing. Some had been removed in chunks; others had been selectively removed and replaced with newer notes. This he knew, because the others had been faded with use. Temari had of course taken Tsunade's file, and run it through a copier. But, with the amount of time that Gaara had possessed the files, they would have all been slightly faded, crinkled, and even wearing slightly thin. At one point he'd been reading through them nightly. These newer pages, though, were fresh and crisp. Not all of the missing pages had been replaced, but what irked Gaara the most was that he couldn't remember what the pages had said.

Sneering, he snapped the file shut and set it back on the floor, just-so. He snatched up the pile to the right, and practically ripped Sasori's file from the pile before setting the pile back down. Neatly.

He hadn't read completely through Sasori's yet. He'd only had time to browse. But now... now he would do what he should have done.

Gaara got up and locked the door to ensure that he would not be disturbed.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

KIBA'S ROOM WAS disgusting. He knew that he should've cleaned it a long time ago, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Kallou had only been gone a few days, maybe a week, but it felt like months since he'd seen her face.

Collecting himself with a ragged sigh, Kiba forced himself to get up off of the bed. He needed to do something to get her off of her mind. He detested cleaning, with all of his being, so that seemed to be the only logical explanation.

The hours flew by as he first made his bed, and then rearranged all the dirty clothing into one pile. He put all of the books back onto the shelves, cleaned the garbage off of the floor, and even picked some of Shikamaru's belongings up off of the floor. Shikamaru used to be neat, but he hadn't cleaned his things up in weeks, maybe months.

Kiba got down on the floor, crawling beneath his bed to make sure he'd gotten rid of all of the garbage. He pulled out a notebook that he hadn't realized was still there. '_What the... Oh, fuck.' _

It was one of Kallou's notebooks. She had reserved it just for him. They'd write notes back and forth to each other, sharing secrets and talking about their futures. They'd both been getting better, with all of the time they spent together. Life hadn't seemed so troubling. Flipping through the notebook, full of writings that no one but he and Kallou would truly understand the value of, brought back all the feelings and all the memories.

How much he'd cared for her... the simple delight he earned each time he earned a laugh from her, or a smile. Kiba closed the book with such ferocity that the cover tore slightly, just along where the spirals of the spine ran through the small holes. An instant pang of regret cracked through him, burning like a whip across flesh. He gently kissed the cover, and tucked it underneath of his pillow.

Kiba sighed, knowing that he couldn't bear to be on his own anymore. He drifted out to the living room where some of his wing was congregating.

Naruto looked up in surprise when he saw him, calling him over enthusiastically. He and Sasuke scooted over to make room for him. Kiba offered a small smile before sinking down onto the couch with a soft grunt. Fae smiled shyly, averting her eyes. Sasori and Kankuro were chucking a stress ball back and forth to one side of the room-Kankuro still didn't know that it was Sasori who'd kissed Kai, not Gaara- and Shikamaru was lying on the floor playing a game of chess with Kai. Everyone, give or take a few, was watching a movie. As rules would permit, it was nonviolent.

"Oops!" snickered Kankuro as he 'accidentally' beamed Fae in the face with the stress ball. She meekly shrugged at Kiba, who had sat up, panicked.

She picked up the stress ball, which had plopped into her lap, and hesitantly tossed it back to the boys. "It wasn't like they did it on purpose," she muttered, when Kiba stared at her in confusion.

A few moments later, they did it again. She grimaced, and then forced on a smile before throwing it back to them. As soon as the ball left her hands though, she turned back around. She cast her dusky blue eyes back into her lap, hiding them from view. A swift flick of her hands flipped her hair from behind her shoulders to in front of them, so that it could fall forward to frame her face, hiding it from view.

Kiba shifted uncomfortably, wishing he could get out of here. But then he frowned, because he realized he come back to this place because anywhere else was too unbearable.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

FAE COULDN'T DENY the utter misery she was feeling. Everyone in the wing knew that Kiba had been the one to piss on her. Everyone. Now everyone- at least it seemed that way-would know that he was staring at her. To make matters worse, idiot one and idiot two were purposefully chucking the stupid stress ball at her.

She knew that they were already friends; she was the outsider. That didn't mean they needed to make her feel like shit, though. It just wasn't fair.

Her hair hid her face, so that no one could see what she was thinking. She liked that. Fae stayed like that until she could compose herself, only lifting her face when she had a smile ready. Whatever they trying to test out in her... she was determined to pass it.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

THAT NIGHT, AFTER everyone else had gone to bed, Gaara emerged from his room. Sakura had been wondering where he was. Everyone but Fae had disappeared from the small living room. Fae was stretched out on one side of the couch, fast asleep. She'd stayed out with Sakura, because Sakura had asked her to.

It wasn't so much a favor for Sakura, but an offer of friendship from Sakura. Sakura was offering protection by including her.

Sakura smiled when she felt Gaara's hands close over her eyes, a makeshift blind fold. "Guess who?"

"Hmm... Santa Claus?" She chuckled when he scoffed, and pressed her hands against his. "I missed you. Where'd you go?"  
"I was... reading. I had to check up on-" Gaara broke off when he realized that Fae was lying on the couch. He suspected that she was sleeping, but he didn't want to risk it. "Come."

Grabbing her hand, he pulled her into her room. Once inside, he locked the door and pushed her into a sitting position on the bed. He sat down next to her, one leg folded in half and the other resting solidly on the floor. Gaara cast his gaze down to his hips, tugging on a stray thread.

"You dragged me in here, and now you're not going to tell me what's on your mind?" She inquired in a flat tone, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "Talk to me, Gaara. Come on..."

Gaara shifted uncomfortably, and raised his eyes to meet hers. His icy blue eyes, so usually strong and defiant were riddled with anxiety and apprehension. His mouth opened, closed, and then opened again as he struggled to find the words that did not want to come, "I..."

He exhaled slowly, as if he was in pain. "I can't give you a happy ending. Even if we got out of here... If we got better and left... There is something wrong deep inside me. I can't be the person—"

"Gaara. You are the person. You are _the one_ who I want to be with. I know I got majorly fucked up, and did some stupid things, but, please... please don't break up with me. I love you!" Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes. She reached forward to cup his face, too distressed to notice the shock that was spreading across his features.

"Wha-what!? No! I'm not breaking up with you!" He rushed, pulling her hands away. He gripped them so tightly it hurt, but as long as he wasn't breaking up with her, she didn't care." God, I was just... I meant in the future. Kids. Don't girls always want kids and a family? I'm just... I needed to tell you that I can't give you that. I won't..."

"Oh..." Sakura smiled softly, relieved. "I hadn't even thought about that..." She surprised him, leaning in to hug him so quickly that he jerked back, smacking his head off of the upper support beam for the bunk above them. Sakura wrapped her arms around him in a crushing hug. He was still startled by the sudden motion, but he awkwardly rested his hands on her back.

"I was so scared when you started telling me that," she admitted, slowly pulling back to look him in the eye. "Why not? Why can't you?"

"I refuse to... to subject another human to myself. Sasori is the same as me. He and I never met but we turned out the same. It's in my blood. I am not capable of normality..."

"Oh, Gaara... of course not. How can you raise a child when you never grew up?" soothed Sakura, cradling his head to her chest. It was strange, but comforting. "As long as I have you, I have everything I need."

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SASUKE SMILED AS Naruto mumbled softly in his sleep. It had taken a lot of work to get Naruto to fall asleep, but he'd done it. They'd laid there for hours, talking about everything and nothing. Sasuke on his back, one arm cradled beneath his own head, the other playing with the uneven, short hairs that spanned Naruto's scalp. The same repetitive motion, back-and-forth-back-and-forth, had calmed the blonde-haired chatterbox to a semi-relaxed state. After a while, Sasuke realized that being engaged in conversation required too much focus for Naruto to be able to fall asleep.

He'd resorted to telling Naruto a long story, loosely based on his life. He'd always been an excellent story-teller, but he so rarely got close enough to anyone to tell them his stories.

This one had been a sad story. It had started out happy, but... he'd run out of inspiration. A soft nagging in the back of his mind urged him to tear things down so that someone could fix them. So he did.

Sasuke was hoping the same would hold true for Naruto. He'd torn himself down already; chopping off his hair hadn't been the first step. He'd been having many small meltdowns before that, but Sasuke supposed that had been the final straw. He could only hope that it didn't take too long for Naruto to rebuild, because he was shit at being the supportive one, at least he thought so. He was used to Naruto trying to lure him out of his shell, trying to get _him_ to open up. Now he was having problems getting _Naruto _to tell him what was going on upstairs.

It used to be that he couldn't get him to shut up. Now he longed for the chance to tell Naruto to shut up and go to sleep. But, this was nice, too. Laying together, sharing the silence. It was sweet. It was almost like home.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SHE'D WANDERED OUT to watch television, because yet again, she couldn't sleep. Fae was stretched out on the other end of the couch, sleeping; Kai only wished she could be that lucky.

Sasori was standing behind her, his hands resting on the back of the couch. It made her exceeding uncomfortable, but what could she do? He didn't say a word, though he occasionally laughed at something on the television. There was ample room for him to sit down on the couch, but he had opted to stand there.

Kai kept her eyes trained on the screen, trying to block him out. After a while, she noticed that he'd fallen quiet, and glanced back to see if he was still there. She rolled onto her side, squinting into the dark to see where he was. When she didn't see him behind the couch, she sat up and checked behind the couch to see if he was squatting down to scare her. She braced herself for the frightening sound she was _sure _he'd make but it never came.

She frowned, slowly rolling back over to watch the rest of her show. Her whole body jolted when she was suddenly face to face with Sasori, who bore a gleeful smirk. It was a small miracle that she didn't scream.

"Boo!" he whispered, bracing his arms around her. Was it normal to be so terrified of someone that you had just kissed less than twenty-four hours ago?

"What do you want?" she hissed, her eyes immediately flickering over to Fae.

Sasori leaned his face in, as if to kiss her, and then stopped short to glare at her. "To make you feel uncomfortable."

"Congratu-fuckin-lations. It worked. Now move. I want to see who's getting all "Auf Wiedersehen-ed" by Heidi!" demanded Kai, trying to press an arm against him to push him out of the way.

"You could kiss me instead," he proposed, leaning in a little further.

"No! Not til I find out—"Sasori interrupted her to kiss her, much to her frustration. He was bored, and her mouth was opened so he figured he'd take a go at it. He chuckler under his breath when she moaned in frustration then quickly in pleasure.

She was fun to screw around with.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"GAARA?" SAKURA ASKED slowly, her fingers twining even deeper into his hair.

"Hmm?" He snuggled closer to her, trying to avoid the unparalleled chill that was seeping into his bones. He deftly shifted the both of them, yanking her thin comforter over the both of them.

"About what you said earlier... how do you know what's wrong with Sasori?" She asked, her voice strained with curiosity.

Gaara's body stilled, and then he exhaled slowly. He wondered absently how late it was. They needed to get up for class in the morning. "I have his file."

"Oh..."

"I have everyone's file. My sister works at the desk, and she snuck it to me because I told her to," he murmured, his voice growing strained. "I realized a few things today."

"I'm sorry, I-"

"She wasn't my mother," he said abruptly, his voice catching in his throat slightly.

"What?" Sakura propped herself up on an elbow, and he pulled back from her chest, though he didn't meet her eyes. He stared at her shirt, as if there was a fascinating design.

"My mother. The woman I remember from when I was little. Sasori was with my mother. I don't know why I didn't realize..." He was getting choked up now. Dammit. "I love her so much, and she wasn't even..."

If a heart could break, hers did in that moment. He was so helplessly broken inside that it broke her, too. "Gaara... I'm so sorry. I..." She trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"Don't be. I don't need your pity!" he snapped, pulling back from her.

Sakura rushed to assure him, "I'm _not _pitying you!" Now _her _voice was cracking in desperation. "Don't you see that? I _love _you. I don't know if you love me, but _I _love _you. _This is how people are when they love each other. They _care _about you, and they feel bad when you feel bad. They hurt when you hurt! It hurts me to see you this way..."

The tear that escaped her did him in. Just like that, the single tear that slipped down her cheek broke through some of the walls and barriers he had surrounded himself with. That one, single tear invaded him like a flood, washing away his protection.

Sakura gasped when suddenly he clung to her in a bone-crushing embrace. She reached up with her free hand to play with his hair; it calmed him down when she did that.

"...Sakura?" He whispered breathily.

"What?"

"Shikamaru is dead."

**Author's Note. **

**I seriously wrote the majority of this in like three hours. Like... seriously. About 3500 words in three hours. **

**DUN DUN DUN. A lot of stuff is happening. I'm sorry if this is confusing after such a long time. But I have gotten a few reviews on it, and I really decided I needed to write more. I still feel bad for making Sakura into such a slut, so I'm trying to humanize her. I'm trying to make everybody a little bit deeper, so you can see a bit more into their head. I didn't go into too much detail with anyone other than A.] Those who are the main characters. Or B.] Those who have been in the shadows lately. So there ya have that. Sorry for being away so long. **

**I took a whole year off of reading, writing, and even some of the drawing. I thought that I was hiding from the real world when I wrote. I tried to tell myself that if I wanted to be happy, I couldn't live in my own world with my old stories. BOY WAS I EVER WRONG. Writing is my one, true cathartic release. As much as you guys might disagree with some of the things I do, it made me better. It inspired me to do things properly. I can never turn away from that. I will do my best to keep writing, but sometimes that gets hard. With school coming up again, it'll be easier—I get really bored in class, lmao. **

**I know it's been a while. Please review, and give me ideas to keep me inspired. I have an idea formulating from the last round of votes. **

**I have an important question, one that I overlooked. **

**Should Gaara and Sasori get along? Because there are a lot of unresolved issues there... I never even thought about this. **

**A.] Fuck yeah. Their twins!**

**B.] Uh. No? They don't know each other, and they're both show-stealers. **

**C.] Not yet, but they get along. **

**D.] I want to see Kiba in a tu-tu. **

**All right. There ya have it. Let me know what is going on in your minds. :] 3 **

**Special thanks to "Wolf Goddess of Siberia," the anonymous reviewer who calls themselves 'Bob the Builder', and said "****Ahhha, I love this story, But shit Sakura You slut -.- LOOOOL jk jk But really, Fucking A dude in the bathroom? Attractive." And also to "AngelAmongDemons," "Bleeding Autumn," "TheNightsTerror" and "Rizzz." "Wolf Goddess of Siberia" left me a review, which caused me to go back and read the reviews. I looked through them,and those people who I mentioned... your reviews reminded me what I loved about this story. Not all of you agreed with me, not all of you loved what I did. But you liked certain parts of it, and you all told me what did and didn't work for you and you gave me suggestions. **

**WHAT MORE CAN I ASK FOR IN A READER!? NOTHING! **


	27. Cant Win Them All

IT HAD BEEN obvious to him for a long time that things were amiss, and something was wrong. After the death of Kabuto it had been increasingly obvious that something was wrong-he just couldn't pinpoint what it was about the night that had been off.

Shikamaru had spoken to him, reminding him how Kai had ruined his planned. ""Well this fucks up everything, now doesn't it? You've got to do something about this, you know."

Gaara hadn't been looking at Shikamaru when he'd said that, but when he had lifted his head to look the black-haired genius in the eye no one was there. Shikamaru had been in his room all night.

After that, he had thought back even further. The day after Shikamaru had overdosed, not a single teacher had set him down papers, nor seemed to acknowledge his existence before the others had pointed out they'd forgotten him.

Last night, he'd noticed the dismantled book sitting neatly in his stack. He'd refused to do his math homework; opening the book made him feel anxious. He'd been forced to get into his files and see if he could dredge anything up. Originally, he'd had Tsunade's files, with her notes and all the original copies. But only for the first night. Then Temari had needed them back; it wouldn't have done either of them good to get her fired. The night after that she'd run them through the copier. Gaara had spent hours poring over those files. He needed to know everything about his roommates.

It was how he knew that he could trust Sakura. He hadn't fully trusted her until tonight, of course, but her file had given him what he needed to know so that he could break her and remake her into just what he needed.

Gaara was still lying with Sakura, his head pressed tightly to her chest. His thin but muscular arms, gripped her like a vice. The thoughts that had been spinning through his mind came to abrupt head and he realized he couldn't contain himself anymore.

"...Sakura?" He whispered breathily.

"What?"

"Shikamaru is dead."

She sucked in her breath quickly, exhaling slowly. Gaara didn't lift his head to look at her, didn't even flick his gaze up in her direction. His eyes closed; he crushed them together as though he could close out everything in the world but her. Sakura frowned, displeased to see the way his fear contorted his face in such a way. She pressed a hand to his cheek, thoughtfully. "I don't think he, is, Gaara..." What else could she say?

"It all makes sense, though! Do you remember after he overdosed? The day after I put Nair in your conditioner... Sorry about that. But, Sakura! In English, Orochimaru... he wasn't the only one. Not a single teacher had things prepared for Shikamaru."

"Gaara, they probably didn't expect him to be back to class so soon. I-"  
"He was sitting _right _there, though!" protested Gaara, his left hand collecting a fistful of her shit. Sakura shifted, slightly uncomfortable about what they were discussing. "You weren't in the room for the group session, because you pussied out in the lunch room.. But Tsunade didn't even acknowledge him. She kept talking about him as if he wasn't there until Naruto just told her to ask Shikamaru himself."

Sakura couldn't slow her heart rate, but she could calm her breathing. "Gaara, this is crazy. Who do you propose we've been seeing for the past two or three weeks? His double? His _twin_? Highly unlikely, considering as we've already got one set of twins in the wing."

Gaara sat up, leaning away from her. He looked at her harshly for a moment before the expression drained from his face and he moved to get out of the bed.

"Where're you going?"

"Away from you," he snapped, though his voice was husky with emotion. She'd hurt his feelings.

"Wait! Gaara, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Sakura trailed off when his hand halted its efforts, resting on the doorknob. He looked so tired... "I just... it's a little bit hard for me to rap my mind around, okay?"

Gaara sighed, the mental processes behind his eyes so obvious in the flickers of motion in his face. The corners of his mouth flicked down for a moment, leveled again, and then he looked down and to the right at the floor. Then, without turning lifting his face, his eyes flicked back over to her.  
_'He's deliberating. He trusted me enough to tell me all of this and I fucking snubbed him,' _Sakura thought, mentally berating herself for being so callous. He obviously loved her, and he trusted her to a degree, but... If she didn't continue to meet his standards that trust could evaporate.

She was safe for now, though. Gaara let out a disgruntled sigh as he lowered himself to her mattress. He sat on the edge, staring at the floor for a moment before he turned his gaze upon her. "I don't know how to prove it. Yet. But... I know the difference between when the things I see are real and when they aren't."

Sakura smiled. "I believe you. I just don't know if I want to."

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

WHEN MORNING FINALLY came, Naruto had managed to drool a puddle the size of a dinner plate onto Sasuke's shirt. His chest felt sticky, but he didn't complain. Only when Naruto groggily began to stir did he lazily brace both hands behind his head, taking in Naruto's morning face.

Why did he find it so charming? The way Naruto yawned and contorted his face was probably about as attractive as if Naruto had stuck both thumbs in his ears, wiggled all his fingers, and started squawking at him-and yet Sasuke loved him even more for it.

Perhaps he loved it because it meant that Naruto had been asleep; that Naruto had gotten _enough _sleep to actually be ready to wake up. "Well, Sleeping Beauty, I don't know if you were attempting to sloppy kiss yourself awake or what but you've left quite the puddle."  
Naruto took one look at Sasuke's chest and let out a riotous bellow of laughter. Sasuke couldn't quash that smile that rose to his lips, but he didn't allow himself to laugh. "Sorry, Sasuke, haha! I just... I had a dream I was with you and were at an endless buffet... although, after a while the asparagus turned into troopers and they came after us, brandishing their fellow asparagus like pitchforks..."

Now Sasuke had to laugh. Naruto looked so perplexed by his dream and his dream was just so utterly stupid that he couldn't contain himself. "You might not sleep well all the time, but damn I kind of wish I could be inside your mind." ` Naruto leaned in, a smirk curving the set of his mouth. "I bet you would. But you're already there." Naruto kissed Sasuke chastely on the lips. "You're all I think about, if I can help it."

Giving his raven-haired partner another innocent kiss, this time on the nose, Naruto jumped down off of the bunk. He was surprised Sasuke wasn't mad at him for slobbering all over him in his sleep. Naruto _had_ dreamed about the asparagus army, but he'd also had other dreams. Ones that were less charming and _much_ more alarming than asparagus.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

BREAKFAST WAS MUCH more pleasant than it usually was. Kankuro didn't like it. It wasn't solely caused by the need to see other people in as much misery as he, though that played a large role in his discontent at the breakfast table. Something was up, and he aimed to figure out what. He still hadn't confronted Gaara about Kai, and he didn't know that he would. While he'd love to have another fight, he needed to shelve his pride if he didn't want shelved himself.

Sasori and Gaara, though they weren't exactly buddy-buddy, seemed to be getting along a little bit better this morning. Kankuro didn't know why they were both in a more relaxed mood, but he hastily chalked it up to them conspiring against him.

"I know right!? And then, these big ass guys come in wielding the other guys like they're pitchforks!" Naruto was telling everyone about the strange dream he'd had last night, but Kankuro couldn't bear the sound of his voice right now. Too happy...

"Why didn't you just eat them?" pondered Sasori, using his plastic spork to gesticulate. The small chunk of pancake that he had so haphazardedly speared threatened to fly from the plastic device and thock Naruto across the forehead. It did not however, and Sasori promptly ate it with a quick flourish of his hand.

Naruto paused for a moment, scooping up a portion of oatmeal mush. "I dunno. I was being attacked by my food. I didn't exactly have the notion to stuff the food inside my mouth so it could go all Jackie Chan on my insides..."

"Did you know Jackie Chan did a porno at one point?"

Kankuro looked up, surprised that Fae was speaking. In his surprise, he'd almost knocked out of his carton of orange juice. Sasori set it back on his plate, casually. Kankuro couldn't help but bristle in agitation.

"What!?" snorted Kai, choking on her pancake. "No!"

"Yeah," laughed Fae. "Back in like '75. He needed the money I guess."

"Ha!I hope that no one thought _little _of him!" chortled Kai, laughing so hard her cheeks turned bright pink.

Kankuro rolled his eyes, and pushed his plate away. He'd lost his appetite.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SAKURA BIT THE end of her paintbrush with indecision. Gaara looked up at her from across the table; almost wishing he hadn't told her what he thought had happened. They were both hovering over the class project, a canvas mural that was to be hung in the lobby of the institution. Neither of them could exactly focus, though.

Sakura was too busy staring at Shikamaru, who she could see plain as day, and averting her gaze when he looked in her direction. "I don't know what to think anymore..."

"'Bout what?" asked Naruto, his eyes bright and curious. Sakura was working with not only Gaara, but Naruto, Sasuke, and Kiba as well. Various projects were underway.

Gaara shot Sakura a dark look, and she hastily covered her tracks. "These clouds. I mean... they just look stupid. I can't even... will you do it Naruto? I swear a five year old could paint better than me. I don't know why he insists that I paint all the time."

"Because you look cute when you're frustrated!" laughed Naruto, giving her a one arms hug before nudging her out of the way. "Sakura, your clouds look fine... you just need more confidence! He wants you to experiment more! Get a little _funky."_ Naruto laughed, grinding his hips in a style that reminded everyone in the group of John Travolta in "Grease." Sakura laughed, her eyes lighting up at his praise.

On the other side of the classroom, Fae, Kai, Sasori, Shikamaru, and Kankuro were working on their own project. It was a "Tribute to Tsunade," as Sasori had sarcastically called it. It had been Deidara's idea that they write their emotions out onto the page in a large collage of graphiti-styled words. Kankuro thought it was complete and utter bull shit, and had loudly voiced that opinion. Everyone in his group, save for Sasori, was doing their best to ignore him. He didn't know which pissed him off more: that everyone was ignoring his existence or that Sasori was the only one acknowledging it.

Gaara and Sakura had both noticed Kankuro's strange behavior. He'd been laughing and joking with Sasori only the night before, now he was giving him the cold shoulder. Sakura didn't trust him, but she didn't understand why Kankuro didn't.

"Hey, Sakura, can I borrow that paint? I can't find the bottle, otherwise I wouldn't ask..." requested TenTen, shyly looking at her shoes. Sakura shrugged, holding out the tray without giving the girl another look. TenTen quickly accepted it, though she didn't move away.

"Uhm, Kiba... I'm sorry about Kallou. If you need to talk about it, uh... let me know, okay?"

Sakura looked up, startled. TenTen's cheeks had turned a deep, embarrassed red, but she held her ground. Kiba's face blanched as he looked at the girl. He slowly nodded, extremely perturbed by the small exchange. TenTen smiled slightly, and then quickly turned around and scurried back to her group's paper-mache model of the Earth.

Naruto put his fingers to his lips and let out a high-whistle. Kiba averted his eyes, blushing. "Shut up."

"Kiba's got a girly-friend! I gotta admit, that was weird though. I'm not used to seeing her when she's not acting like the girl from 'The Exorcist.' She's not ugly though. Are you gonna go for it?" Naruto was leaning in so close to Kiba that he cringed and backed away.

"I dunno man... She kinda freaks me out," he admitted. [**Don't hate me for this. :P TenTen is obviously not a legit psycho in the show/manga, but she's serving a purpose in my story and I'm gonna make up for it later.] **

Gaara repressed a smile, ducking his face to paint wide strokes. Sakura chuckled, catching his eye. He hastily looked away, the slight smile still gracing his lips. No one would have encouraged Sakura to get involved with him. It was hilarious to him that they actually worked together. He didn't know if she was falling with him into the pit of utter insanity, or if she was doing her best to yank the both of them out of it.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

IT HAD BEEN a dreadfully long day. Gaara was occupied with Sakura in her room, so that left Sasori ample time to do a little bit of snooping. He'd already found the files that Gaara had not-so-cleverly hidden underneath of his bed. Wasn't that the first place any person who wasn't an idiot would check for things?

His first priority was to see if there were any mementos of home. Of the life that he had missed... Had his and Gaara's father been a better father than his mother done at her role in parenting him? Gaara had always refused to talk about it in sessions. Pages from Gaara's files were obviously missing-he assumed that Gaara had taken them out in the event that anyone should find his files.  
There wasn't anywhere decent to hide _anything_ in Gaara and Kankuros' room it turned out. That was why Gaara had opted for such an obvious spot. There was nothing to resemble home in this room except for a small, tan teddy-bear. It was pressed down in-between the wall and bed.

It looked ancient. Sasori frowned, wondering why it was here. Was it Kankuro's or Gaara's? Why did they have it? Was it a token of home, or was it one of the only things they could have called a friend? Sasori frowned as he held the small teddy bear in his hand. Then he sighed. He missed the teddy bear that his mother had given him before her schizophrenia had gotten too bad for her to be a good mother.

Slipping out of the room, teddy bear in hand, Sasori made his way to Kai's room, the only place he had at the moment where he could stash things. When someone realized it was gone and started looking for it, he would know whose it was. He'd also have wheedled out another weakness in whoever owned it. He was _supposed _to be rooming with Kiba, but there wasn't exactly room. Kankuro and Gaara were bunked together, and so were Naruto and Sasuke. Fae had taken Kallou's spot, in the bunk above Sakura, and Kai was the only one without a roommate. She was rather spoiled, really.

She was fun to be around, though, so it was a steady compromise.

Kai looked up when he entered, dropping her pencil. She regarded him with suspicion, obviously wondering why both of his hands were behind his back. "What do you want?"

"I'm bored," he said with a sly smile. "So I thought we could-"

"You can't just waltz in and do whatever, ya know," she snapped angrily.

He laughed, leaning against the wall, bracing the stupid stuffed-animal against his back and the wall so it wouldn't fall. "Yes I can."

"And what makes you think you can, huh?" She retorted flinging her pencil at him. Kai huffed angrily when he caught it with a calm, fluid motion. Why did he need to make everything appear as though it were as easy as breathing?

"Because you let me."

Kai opened her mouth to argue again, and then she closed her mouth. Folding her arms across her chest, she leaned against the wall with irritated determination. "Not anymore. Get out."

Sasori's lip parted in frustration, and he raised a skeptical brow. His chin tilted down, and he tried to stare into submission but she didn't budge. "Make. Me."

Kai made as if to get up, and then stopped. A smile spread across her lips and she cocked a brow at him, as if daring him. "No. You'll leave soon enough. You'll get bored."

Sasori chuckled deep in his throat. This was a game she would not win. He'd played this game with his entire family for years. Since before he could remember. If she wanted to play this game, he would play. But he would win, and she would do as he liked soon enough.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

Shiny. The word resounded in her mind repeatedly. Shiny. Sometimes she stretched out various syllables, distorting the word until it wasn't really a word anymore. Shiny.

Fae was obsessed with shiny things. They calmed the chaos in her mind for a moment, filling her with sheer admiration for the object she had found that was so shiny. Her necklace, which Tsunade had returned to her earlier in the day ,had passed the various tests to ensure that it couldn't be used as weapon. They had removed the shiny chain and replaced with a dainty leather strap. It would break if she tugged on it too hard. It smelled faintly of spray paint-Tsunade herself had done the honors of spraying the strap with silver spray paint, just for her. Fae had been surprised when Tsunade told her that; Tsunade seemed like a very busy woman. It was surprisingly personal of her to do that for her.

Fae glanced at the small alarm clock next to her bed. She swore loudly when she realized just how long she had spent staring at her shiny little peacekeeper. Half an hour had zipped by.

She jumped at the sound of something bumping against one of the walls. Was it her room? Or was it one of the walls in a different room? Fae suspiciously pushed her history book off of her lap and scampered over to the door. She lowered herself to the floor, peering beneath it. When she realized there wasn't a large enough gap to see through, she jumped up and yanked the door open.

Kankuro and Kiba looked up with surprise from their seats on the couch. Fae scowled and slammed her door shut. She was wasting her time. If they were spying on her, they'd be more careful about it than that, wouldn't she? Fae glanced over to her light, wondering idly if there were cameras in her room.

Fae avoided the surprised look that Sakura gave her, and ignored Gaara's cool gaze. She almost angrily scratched the back of her neck, trying to calm herself. She didn't care if they saw her acting crazy, because that was what she was here for. She did, however, care whether or not they cut her out of their strange little society. So she had to play nice unless she wanted to feel alone, yet again.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"Kiba, why are you growling at the TV?" asked Kankuro, exasperation dripping from his voice. His dark brown eyebrows drew together in derision.

"What?" Kiba looked at him in surprise. Had he been growling? He hadn't noticed.

"You're growling. Anytime the chick has sex with someone you act like someone's stealing your milk bones," explained Kankuro. "Do you want me to change it or something?"

"Nah... I'm sorry I didn't know I was doing it. I'm still kinda freaked out about the whole Kallou thing... I miss her." Just admitting that made him feel a bit better. Kiba frowned, trying to stem the flow of "trust thoughts" that he wanted to say but knew he couldn't. When he was little, sensitive conversations that he'd deemed too important to tell to just anyone had been filed in his brain as "trust thoughts." He trusted Kankuro, but he didn't want to get all worked up over nothing.

"Ah, bitches... Bitches ain't nothing but tricks and hoes," laughed Kankuro, sighing heavily. "I'm so sick of women. I love them all. I hate them all. I can't live with them, without them... They drive me _crazy._"

Kiba let out a loud bellow of laughter that sounded oddly similar to a bark. Kankuro lifted his gaze from the screen long enough to give Kiba a skeptical look. Kiba chortled as Kankuro cocked an inquiring brow. "I think you already beat 'em to the punch, bud."

"Yeah well, I don't think I'd punch back. Not with my fists at least," muttered Kankuro, lacing his fingers behind his head.

"What about Fae? Do you think maybe she'd... Well, ya know." Kiba averted his eyes when Kankuro guffawed loudly.

"Ha! Bro, you pissed on her. You _pissed _on her the first day she got here. I doubt she'd hot to trot with you, dog-breath." Kankuro chuckled some more, and then changed the channel. Sex scenes were always so awkward when someone else was in the room.

"I guess you're right, haha..." Kiba trailed off, and then sighed. Maybe he was just doomed to a life of bad luck with woman. One didn't like to talk, one _wouldn't_ talk to him. You can't win em all, right?

**Author's Note. **

**So I turned this out pretty quickly. xD 3 I would also like to thank Twisted Musalih, because boy have they been an inspiration. I forgot to include them in last chapter, which made me feel bad, hahah. So there they are. **

**And don't worry things are coming along! :] Any special requests?**

**And yeah, I hated the part with Sasori and the stupid freaking teddy bear, so sorry if that seemed forced. It was... :P Welp lemme know whatcha thinking. :] 3 **

**Lauren! 3 **


	28. Masquerade

WHAT WAS THE date? Gaara absently looked up from the paper on his desk, trying to remember what the date was. Things in this place never changed; it was hard to resist the natural urge to let the days blur together. With a ragged sigh he allowed himself to leave the line blank. That bothered him. He didn't like not knowing things. To him, leaving things blank like that was the equivalent of leaving your house and shutting the door without locking it. It wouldn't kill him, but it could throw a wrench in the plan.

He mentally scoffed at himself for being such a wreck that not knowing the date was causing him to have a slight mental-melt-down. He refused to ask for help, though. If there was one thing Gaara knew he didn't need, it was help.

Gaara looked around again, bored. This paper was just like the rest. He'd be done in two minutes. Then he would sit there. Staring at the board as the clock clicked down the minutes til' he could leave. Sakura's hand brushed against his shoulder and he flinched, turning around to look at her.

"You okay? You're all hunched up like you're ready to attack somebody..." she mused, leaning her head on her hand, a small smile on her lips. Gaara had the sudden urge to trace them with her thumb, but he refrained. That would be inappropriate.

Instead he shrugged, sighing as he looked up at the ceiling. For a moment he thought he saw a human form crawling across the tile but in the blink of an eye it was gone. Gaara exhaled quickly and turned back around. He could feel Sakura's eyes on the back of his neck and he couldn't repress the shiver of distaste that rippled down his spine. '_Stop watching me..._**'**

As if on cue, the feeling evaporated. Gaara closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind. His left hand slipped into his hoodie so he could find his source of relief. His fingers closed tightly around the black, plastic device, toying with the idea of calling pressing the button. '_If you want to talk to me, or even ask me questions about anything, ask Tsunade for Jiraiya.'_

The old man's words echoed inside his head, reverberating off the barriers of his mind. It ping-ponged back and forth, the same line repeating over and over. '_Ask Tsunade for Jiraiya.' _It was impossible to think with those words whirling back and forth. It became a roaring drone in his ears; he couldn't think at all.

Nauseous, Gaara pulled his hand from his pocket. He pressed both hands to his temples, crushing them together in an attempt to quash the pain and discomfort that he was unintentionally causing himself. His eyes flickered across the page in front of him; these words steadily shouted over the ones inside of his head. With relief in his eyes he began to read and write down the answers as fast as he could. His penmanship, usually abnormally perfect, was a beautiful scrawl that was just legible.

Gaara rose from his seat quickly, immediately marching to the teacher's desk. "I need to use the bathroom."

It hadn't been a question. He wasn't asking permission; he stated his business, turned in his work, turned on heal and left. He didn't look at Sakura or anyone else as he left. Once outside of the restricting classroom, he made a bee-line for the bathroom. Sasori had been staring at him, perplexed and amused. He wanted to wipe that smug smile of his brother's face.

His hand gripped the device in his pocket tightly in his bony hand. Sinking onto one of the toilets, he pulled it out to study it. Did he dare to push the button?

"He won't do it... he's too scared." Gaara jumped at the sound of the sneering voice so close to his right ear. He whirled around, rising to his feet as he turned. The blonde haired man he knew so well was perched on the back of the toilet, his eyes gleaming maliciously. "Don't you miss Mister Cuddles?"

Seemingly from nowhere, he produced a bear from behind his back. He brandished it at Gaara, chuckling in the same terrible way he always did. "He didn't save you then and he won't save you now, you silly little boy."

Gaara jerked backwards when the figure leaned forward to touch him. He slammed into the closed door of the stall, a ragged groan escaping him. Without thinking, he pressed the button on the device. It made no sound. Gaara hadn't had any of intention of pressing the button, but when he did he didn't let go.

"Come back, Gaara! You can't run away from me anymore. I'm faster than you re-"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Gaara recognized the panic in his voice. It was hoarse, increasing in pitch with each syllable.

He didn't know how to combat the panic that was seeping into his body; he honestly felt like whatever tangible grasp he might have had on his emotions and his sanity were rappidly slipping out of his reach. He had no idea how to stop it, either.

* * *

[.o_o.]

* * *

PROBLEMS WERE PROBLEMS. He didn't care what the initial problem was, he was more a fan of solving it. However,in this situation he knew that _he _was the problem.

Sasori bowed his head, ignoring the work he was supposed to be doing. He couldn't focus right now. Things were to strange. He looked up, across the room, at Kankuro. He couldn't think of the dark-haired boy as his brother; it was too new and he couldn't accept him so easily. Not now.

Sasori had thought he and Kankuro were on good terms. However, the past day or two Kankuro had been giving him the cold shoulder. He supposed it could have been because he made out with his ex-girlfriend, but all things considered... he and Kai were broken up and they'd broken up before he even got there. Surely Kankuro didn't have hard feelings over that? He wasn't even sure if Kankuro knew.

Kankuro was a lot ruder to him when his brother was around, but Sasori didn't understand why. He supposed that Kankuro had something to prove to Gaara, perhaps, by not letting Sasori off easily.

Ducking his head back down to look at the work, Sasori sighed. They'd only gotten it half an hour ago and he was already much farther ahead than the rest of the class, but it wasn't far enough. Kakashi had assigned them a project to be worked on over the next week; the assignment called for him to design a city: what type of government would it have, why he chose that one, what type of economy and why, what type of people were in the city and for what reason, where was it located geographically, their relations with trade for other cities, and what natural resources did it have, etc. They needed to write up a paper on it, as well as create either a model of it or a detailed picture. Sasori had already figured out the majority of his per-requisites but he couldn't focus long enough to actually write the paper.

He glanced around the room at the other groups and was suddenly glad he'd opted to work alone. Hidan and Haku were working with the two new-additions to their wing. Yukari, whose hair he presumed was blonde—it was so light that it didn't seem to have a true color to it- looked much different than Hinata's jet-black hair. They were polar opposites in that respect. However, their demeanor was similar. Both were mild mannered and gentle, though Hinata was even more so than Yukari. Whenever she got nervous she'd press her index fingers together rapidly, and make little popping sounds with her lips. He didn't understand why.

Hidan had taken to tormenting the fair-haired new girl, not that he personally cared. It was rather annoying to hear her frightened yelps of disapproval when Hidan tried to get on her nerves though.

Sasori shook his head, trying to get all of the other people out of his head. He was not used to being around so many people for so many hours a day. Being in a wing with the same group of people twenty-four-seven was dulling him. Not boring him, no; it was killing his senses. He was becoming weaker and weaker the longer he stayed her.

He could no longer focus on things and finish them automatically. He knew that being around a family could give him a false sense of security. Sasori's mother had done a good job of cementing that rule into him. Never trust anyone. Especially not family.

Sasori smiled slightly. It really shouldn't worry him that neither Gaara nor Kankuro trusted him. Because they _were _family. He'd have to start carrying out his agenda as he'd planned or he would grow weaker. He didn't care what they thought of him because he had better things to worry about.

The smile slipped off of his face as he realized that he _did _care. It killed him that no one in his family trusted him. His mother had called him worthless, wishing for her other sons. She never loved him. She told him so. His father hadn't wanted any of his children. He'd pawned Gaara and Kankuro off on his uncle, Yashamaru.

He wondered what it felt like to be truly wanted. All of his life he'd been snubbed, shoved away, and ignored until finally he gave up and gave people something to hate. Something to fear. Then he didn't need to worry about them liking him because he made sure that they didn't. When he went to new schools he would make friends. Draw them in. Befriend and then besmirch. That had been his tactic.

Now, though... for a fleeting moment he'd actually entertained the idea of having a brother or two that understood him. That understood what he'd been through... Sasori sighed, realizing he'd been foolish to think that would have been possible.

* * *

[.o_o.]

* * *

KAKASHI FROWNED AS he looked at his class. He'd meant for this to be a group assignment, but many of them had opted to work by themselves. Kankuro, Gaara, Sasori, Kiba, and even Kai had chosen to work alone. What worried him was that they worked better by themselves.

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and supposedly Shikamaru were working in a group.

He'd died about three or four months ago; Tsunade, upon realizing that all of his wing said they could still see him and talk to him, had realized they weren't stable enough to cope with his death. So she had let them go on believing that. Kakashi didn't believe in ghosts, and had concluded that they were moving objects for him, when no one was looking, and planning what they'd answer to a question if it was asked.

Kakashi had been trying to for months to get some kind of proof that they were planning their interactions with him. Whenever Shikamaru was purported to have said something, all of the people from his wing seemed to have "heard" the same thing. One time he'd gone as far as telling them ask Shikamaru a question of his choice, and then immediately separating them so he could collect their answers. They'd all had the same answer. It was beyond annoying.

Whenever Shikamaru was said to have moved something, he couldn't get evidence of it. He thought that they had been moving things for him, but he hadn't been able to get the proof; about a month or two ago he'd set up a video camera to record their actions. However, whenever someone asked Shikamaru to do something, the camera either malfunctioned or someone got in the way and he couldn't see if anyone was moving things for him. All of the other teachers had tried, with the same results.

Kakashi sighed, trying to focus back in on his class. He needed to watch out for them so he didn't fail any of them as he'd failed Shikamaru. That boy had been practically crying out for help the last time he'd talked to him, and Kakashi had failed to help him properly. He wouldn't do that again though.

Haku was too conceited to need any help he had to offer though; the boy still stared at himself for hours on end. Some days Kakashi wanted to snatch the plastic mirror from his hands and break it over his knee.

Hidan was frustrating as well. He'd taken to terrorizing one of the new girls, but Kakashi couldn't even separate their group. He knew that doing so would encourage Hidan. Hidan wasn't exactly a bad guy, but he got his jollies out of getting a rise out of other people. Specifically when they over-reacted. It didn't hurt that the new girl was pretty; he thought Hidan had a crush on her but he couldn't be sure. If Hidan had a crush on everyone he treated that way, then Kakashi had himself an admirer that he wasn't prepared to deal with.

* * *

[.o_o.]

* * *

"A GROUP SESSION? It's been a while, Tsunade," mused Naruto. They were already sitting in the session room; they'd been waiting on her to arrive. The seats were just as comfortable as they had always been, so the waiting wasn't so bad.

"Yes, well, that is precisely why we're having one," beamed Tsunade, her smile just a little bit too cheerful.

Gaara averted his eyes; he was too ashamed to even look at her. Surely she'd heard about his episode in the bathroom. He felt weak, sitting here before her. Neither her nor Jiraiya had come to help him. Luckily, or unluckily, a group of orderlies who'd been on break had all wandered in there at the same time. They found him in the stall, screaming, with a strange bite mark on his shoulder.

Gaara was a little surprised to see the white-haired doctor step out from behind Tsunade. He didn't look particularly old, but he seemed to know a lot for just one person. He seemed wise beyond his years.

Jiraiya briefly glanced at Gaara; the small look was enough. He knew. As the strange man opened his mouth to speak, Gaara wondered why he was here. "Hi, there, everybody. I'm here today to help Tsunade with your session. I felt that my technique might be beneficial to each of you. Tsunade asked me for a little bit of help, and there's no shame in that."

Naruto couldn't help but feel immediately at ease. What was it about this guy? There was something soothing about him. He seemed to just... know. Naruto had to look away, because he knew he was staring. He just couldn't place where he knew that man from. "You look familiar for an old far, ya know."

"Ah, well once you hit a certain age we all start to look alike," the older man laughed, winking mischievously at Naruto. Naruto smiled humorously and then cocked his head thoughtfully to one side.

"But I know you. I don't know where from though."

"Hmm... perhaps we've met before, then," concluded Jiraiya, smiling brightly. The red streaks down his cheeks wavered only slightly. Where had they come from? "All right. Now today, I would like to simply start by telling you my name once again. I am Jiraiya. Seeing as we are all fairly well acquainted, I don't think we need to go around the circle and have a meet-and-greet. No, today I was thinking maybe we could have some free, unstructured talking. I will ask a few questions to lead the conversation, only initially of course, to get the ball rolling, then wherever you all decide to take the conversation is up to you. If you get bored of that, I have a game I'd like us to play. Which would you prefer?"

"Let's play a game!" Kiba panted, leaning forward excitedly. He had his legs folded up underneath of him on the chair, and the way he leaned forward onto his arms was remarkably canine.

"I'd rather the game as well," murmured Sasuke. Naruto nodded happily.

He exuberantly raised his hands into the air, shouting, "We're gonna play a _game_! We get to play a ga-ame, we get to play a ga-ame!" He sung that last bit of his jubilant cheer to the tune of Blue's Clues "I just got a letter" jingle.

Tsunade, while a little disturbed to see that Kiba was reverting to his more canine ways, was rather relieved to see that he seemed a little bit less under the weather.

Fae, who had been abnormally quiet the past few days, still seemed unsure of whether or not she should speak up. Tsunade, deciding to be direct, simply asked her which she'd rather do. Fae, though her voice was soft, firmly asserted that she'd like to play the game.

"Me tool; let's play a game," Kai spoke with a smile, though it didn't meet her eyes. Tsunade frowned mentally, though outwardly she smiled. Kai was usually incessantly happy. That she was hovering above "brooding" didn't bode well, even though the girl seemed to be controlling herself fairly well.

"All righty, then. That's more than half of the votes; a game it is." Jiraiya sighed tiredly as he sank down into a chair in their circle. "Oh-Oh my. Tsunade. Why have you been keeping me from them? These chairs are ridiculous..."

Indeed they were. They were still every bit as comfortable as they'd remembered them to be.

"Now the basis of this game is relatively simple, even though you may find it silly at first. This activity is a role playing activity. While it is very much like charades, you will actually be portraying a person in this room. However, should any of your... re-enactments be derogatory or rude to the other person, they have an ample opportunity to think of an embarrassing charade just for you. Play your cards, so to speak, wisely."

His last words, though they sounded ominous and foreboding, created a more festive and enthralling feeling in the enclosed atmosphere. Naruto quickly stood of from his seat, declaring that he would go first. "All right, folks! Prepare for a trea-"

"Naruto, you need to raise your hand and as your turn to be first. Then, whoever can properly guess who you're portraying whill follow you," admonished Jiraiya, a slight smile tugging at his weather lips. He chuckled as he ushered for Naruto to sit down.

Exasperated, Naruto complied, immediately thrusting his hand into the air once his fanny touched the fabric. "Please, awesome Jiraiya sir, old toady one? Let me go first, so that I can prove my worth the world!"

Naruto sank down off of the chair, onto his knees, and clutched his hands in front of his chest in a mockingly pleading gesture. Jiraiya couldn't repress his howl of laughter when Naruto made his eyes wide and innocent; it was quite ridiculous and Naruto knew it.

"Yes, but only because you've catered to my enormous ego. Carry on," allowed Jiraiya.

Naruto popped to his feet immediately, and then turned away fro the circle, bowing his face to the floor as though he was composing himself. He exhaled slowly, and then jumped up into the air, turning around mid-jump so that he could face them as dramatically as possible. Then, slowly and even more dramatically, he rubbed his hands against his hips, and dragged them sexily up his body.

He cupped breasts that he didn't have, puckering his face up into a pout. He turned slowly, marching over to Gaara, whom he blew a kiss. He feigned a moan, putting a dainty hand to his forehead.

"Hey! Naruto, cut it out! I don't act like that!" snapped Sakura, turning an embarrassed red at the sound of the other's giggles. She might have done a few things at this place she wasn't proud of, but she didn't want Naruto to openly mock her for it in front of Jiraiya and Tsunade. She didn't even know the old guy-who was obviously getting a kick of it.

"Ah! Naruto, is that who you were modeling yourself after?" inquired Jiraiya, laughing softly.

"Yes! Although, she isn't really a slut. I just like to tease her," chuckled Naruto, giving his friend a cheeky wink to let her know it was all in good fun.

"Yeah, well... at least I didn't chop my hair off!"

"Too bad someone else butchered your hair for you," scoffed Kankuro, looking away from her with an irritated grunt.

Sakura rolled her eyes as she pushed herself up from the chair in a single, fluid motion, ignoring his childish remark. She'd already made a fool of herself already. So she'd try to play it cool for now.

She plopped down on the floor, lolling her tongue out of her mouth. When no one spoke up, she rolled her eyes, and got on all fours, reaching up awkwardly with her foot to scratch at her torso.

"Naruto with fleas!" chirped Kiba, laughing childishly.

"Kiba!" Fae whispered, surprised she'd spoken up. She immediately paled, realizing she had to go up in front of everyone. '_Great. This is going to be supremely awkward.'_

"Get it girl!" Sakura whispered to her as she made her way back to her seat. She winked, just in case Fae hadn't heard her. But everyone had heard the whisper and caught the wink. It was a nice enough gesture; it relieved Fae only a little though because she was terrified of going up in front of people.

She paused for a moment, leaning her weight onto one foot as she stood in the center of the circle. As they stared at her, she could feel herself growing more and more uncomfortable. Almost as uncomfortable as she had the first day here-and that's when it hit her. Who made her more uncomfortable than Gaara?

Fae closed her eyes, letting her brown bangs shift forward to cover them as she composed herself mentally. She knew who she would look at when she finally worked up the courage to do it.

Flicking her hair out of the way with a slight shake of her head, Fae's eyes flashed open to reveal a surprisingly stony, cold glare that she directed straight as Kankuro. It spoke volumes about malice and destruction. Kankuro chuckled slightly, lifting his chin in approval.

"Gaara."

Fae nodded, happily, and scampered back to her seat. Tsunade shifted in her seat, surprised by the girl's quick change in demeanor. That wasn't usual for her-not even before she came here. She was hoping it was a sign of improvement.

"Where'd that come from?" mused Sasuke, his dark onyx eyes flickering lazily over in the small girl's direction. "You might have more balls than I gave you credit for."

"She doesn't have balls," pointed out Kai. "Why do guys say 'it takes balls' to do this and 'it takes balls' to do that? What about us girls? Are we supposed to be like '_Fuck yeah! _It takes fucking _ovaries _to do that shit, yeah!'"

Tsunade couldn't help but chuckle, and so did a few others, but Kankuro did not. He simply stood up, moved to the middle of the circle, and stood there for about half of a second as he deliberated.

He knew he would do either one of two people. Sasori or Kai; but which would it be? He loathed Sasori at the moment for trying to steal his brother from him; who the hell did he think he was coming onto his turf and trying to steal the only family he'd ever had that truly understood him? However, on the other hand, he was still angry with Kai. He couldn't help but be pissed with her. He was mad because what had happened was his fault; he couldn't be mad at her, hard as he tried. He knew it was his fault, but that didn't stop him from resenting her for making him feel so shitty about himself.

Kankuro scowled as he decided, though it was very abrupt. It took him only a second to decide. He knew what he was about to do was risky. It would either make him feel better, or he'd just feel a whole lot worse afterwards. He mimed playing tennis, something they all often did on the Wii. He avoided looking at the person he was portraying, and then made an obviously terrible jab at the ball, and tripped over his feet as he made obnoxiously stupid faces. He fell to the carpet, and then rolled around, swinging the remote in the air.

"I'm soooooo good at this," he purred, glancing up only briefly to see whether or not he was embarrassing himself. Everyone else was laughing like he'd 'lost his mind, but the one person who needed to see it was blushing angrily.

"You're an ass, Kankuro, I didn't look that ridiculously retarded," snapped Kai, looking away. She remembered how he'd said she was ridiculous, and then helped her up, even though she'd somehow managed to win that point and the set, beating him in the match. It had been a sweet moment and he'd turned it into something sour.

Kankuro smirked, giving her what he hoped she would understand to be a meaningful look. "I know." If she noticed it, she didn't say anything. His facial expression didn't change, but his emotions did. She didn't remember the good times they'd shared, did she?

Kai shifted her weight back and forth from one leg to the other as she thought of what she do. Then she smiled up at the ceiling, not wanting to look at who it was she was thinking of. She immediately sprung forward to run around the small circle, waving her arms like a mad-woman. Then she stopped, quickly, and began to bunny-hop. After about six hops, she plopped down on the floor, making strange, humorous faces as she mimed cutting her hair off in random chunks.

"Kiba on acid?" Sakura guessed, laughing at the thought of it.

"Naruto!" shouted Jiraiya, chuckling deeply. "I remember now! I had to check you out to make sure you were all right to go back to your wing. I had to confiscate your scissors!" Jiraiya chuckled loudly, doubling over as he did so. A tear of laughter strolled down his cheek, staying perfectly in line with the red stripe.

Naruto raised his hands in the air, pleased that he'd found out why he remembered the bizarre man.

Jiraiya stood in the center as he composed his laughter, and then he exhaled slowly. He bent his head down, looking at his hands as he carefully folded them together. When he looked up, he was sneering. It was a perfect impression of Sasori's annoyed grimace-which he was wearing at this moment. He had been silent for the whole time, something that was a little unusual of him. He seemed a bit down today.

Gaara rolled his eyes, a little relieved to be able to actually find amusement in the silly game. "Sasori," he drawled lazily, a soft smirk tilting his lips upwards. Jiraiya bowed, clapping his hands.

"Good job, oh formidable adversary!"

Gaara nodded, though he didn't get up from his chair. Instead, he shifted so that he was lying sideways in his chair, one hand trailing to the floor, the other tucked comfortable behind his head. He sighed loudly, feigning boredom. "Guess..."

"Shikamaru," grunted Sasori, his eyes dark. Tsunade stared at him, surprised, but said nothing.

He stood up slowly, and then sighed, unsure of what he should do. He opted for an easy Sasuke impression. He manufactured a bored, brooding look, and then put one hand on his hip, popping the other out to dangle his wrist.

There was a pause, and then Sasori smiled, nodding. It had been Sasuke. Tsunade and Jiraiya experienced a strange silence as they all looked, riveted, to the center of the circle where it appeared nothing was happening.

"Hey, you can't be yourself!" Naruto grunted in frustration.

Someone sighed in annoyance and then Naruto nodded in appreciation.

"Jiraiya!" growled Kiba, his grin wide. Finally he'd gotten one.

He struck a feminine pose, then pretended to toss hair over his shoulder, the wear girls do. Then, his hands hovered over his chest, indicating breasts. Then he moved his hands farther and farther away from his chest, nodding to the boys. They were big.

Jiraiya eyebrow twitched in recognition, and then he snorted. "You are referring to Tsunade... the woman of the mighty gazongas."

The look on Tsunade's face, just before she angrily called an end to the session, was priceless.

**Author's Note: I'm so sorry this is coming to you all SO late! I've had a weird couple of weeks, and today was especially awful for me. However, I love you all so much I thought I'd force myself to write. That turned out to be a great thereputic release for me. :] 3 I hope you like it. **

**Also... the other wing is in need of more people! **

**Should we bring in... **

**A.] Lee! Remember how Sasuke tried to kill him in the beginning? Well, he didn't succeed. Frankly, I think it would be interesting. xD He can brighten everyone's day, running around screaming about the fires of his youth. **

**B.] Neji. I have this idea of him being a crossdresser... Yes.**

**YOU DECIDE, FOLKS! IF you seem even enough, I might bring em both in. Just because that wing is short on people and funny ones at that. **

**Love you all. :} **

**Lauren. 3 **


	29. Are You Lonely?

"OH, ROMEO, ROMEO! Where for art though... homeo." Kiba flared his arms wide, and then brought them together above his head. He spun around, as a dancer might, and then did a small skip as he extended one hand to Naruto, and fanned his tutu wide with the other.

There were many catcalls as he did this; mostly from the girls but Sasuke threw in his fair share of whistles and encouragement.

"Well, I asked you to perform a skit-detailing what your lives are like when you are alone in your wings, but... if this is going on you guys need your own show. It's hilarious, I love it." Deidara applauded loudly, a wide smile framing his lips. The fair-haired man stood slowly, the silly smile still on his face. "Now, Uhm, I believe it is..." He paused to check his list. "Hidan, Yukari, and Haku's turn."

There was a small round of snickering between TenTen, Genma, and Hinata; the three of them knew that the skit that was about to be performed was definitely true to a "t." WHile it had their daily antic down to a truthful depiction, it gave them a chance to highlight their artistic ability.

Haku simply stood in the center, staring at his mirror. HIdan and Yukari darted back and forth behind him, chasing each other in a strange but entrancing dance. Hidan began sing in a soft, low voice. He was a beautiful tenor; Yukari sang as well, her voice light and airy. It was easy on the ears, and quite soothing. This was surprising from the two who were so chaotically running amuck. No one but Haku's fellow performers, Hinata, TenTen, and Genma were prepared for the sound that emanated from Haku's mouth. HIs voice, normally so soft and feminine, raged out of him in monstrously loud and masculine tones. He was singing opera. OPERA. It wasn't even good opera.

Hidan and Yukari both looked up, their voices fizzling out as they stared at Yukari. Hidan's fist bobbed up and down slowly as he yanked on Yukari's hair in a distracted fashion. Yukari rolled over, completely focused on Haku. She and Hidan paused for only a moment longer before leaping at Haku, covering his mouth and stealing his mirror.

"Oh yeah," sneered Hidan, lifting the mirror to look at his face. "I'm Haku. I'm fucking fabulous. Look at me. I could be Tyra Banks or some shit. Fuck yes. Oh man, if only I had a mirror big enough that I could see my ass and my face at the same time..."

Naruto let out a wolf-like gasp of laughter, clutching his sides as he subsided into a loud chorus of breathless laughs. Deidara was in tears at this point, completely unable to maintain any form of professionalism. Kiba was rocking back and forth as he laughed his leg twitching as he laughed uncontrollably.

Gaara didn't find the whole ordeal nearly as funny as anybody else; the corners of his mouth were downturned; he already had a headache and they were only aggravating it. Hidan's line at the end had been humorous, but nothing special. It wasn't enough to make him laugh. It wasn't enough to make him smile. It wasn't enough.

"That was hilarious, yeah!" laughed Deidara, whipping a tear from the corner of his eye. "Ah, shit... Wow! Yeah, I think that leaves... Uhm, oh yeah! Kankuro, Shikamaru, Kai, and Sasuke. … This is an odd group to have come together..."

It was odd. It wasn't funny at all, either. This group had decided to go a more factual route than humorous. That in itself made it rather humorous.

Kankuro and Sasuke pushed ten of the stools together, and brought over a few foldable chairs. They pushed them together in a line, and Kai taped a sign to the middle chair that read "Le couch." Then Kankuro pushed a stool with a box on it, labeled "LE TV!" in front of the row of chairs. Then everyone sat down. Shikamaru lay himself down across a few stools.

They sat there for a good, long moment before Sasuke chuckled abruptly. Kankuro scowled, picked up his hand, and mimed changing the channel. Sasuke sighed, and then lifted a brow interestedly as if he was watching something good.

Kai frowned and then laughed. Kankuro smirked, then chuckled, then laughed maniacally. Even Sasuke smiled at the pretend-funny on the TV. Then they stopped.  
"Bam. That's it. That's all we got," explained Kai, standing up and bowing. " Ah, thank you."

Deidara was smiling, which was good. Sasuke had been afraid that they'd get up there do it, and then everyone would stare at them like they'd suddenly turned into dead fish.

"Definitely very original!" awarded Deidara, clapping his hands. "All right, I think that's it for this class! I'll see you all tomorrow! It'll be a great day, oh yeah!"

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

IT WAS STRANGE, this tumultuous bunch of emotions that swirled and amassed within him. Some days Sasori had hope; he thought his life was worth it and that moving forward was critical. Other days, he felt so bitterly alone and miserable that he didn't understand why he was still alive. What _was _his purpose? Was he destined to be here, forever, never knowing what his life could have been, maybe even _should have been? _

Gaara was one that he knew would have understood him if he could explain things. As it was he could not for more than one reason. At least he wasn't supposed to; the growing anxiety inside of him urged him to tell his brother what was happening anyway. There would be repercussions if he did so. He was wondering if it would be worth it.

Tsunade had not been frivolous in putting Sasori in together with Gaara and Kankuro; Sasori had a task to perform and he had not been upholding his end of the argument. He had multiple duties to perform but he was falling behind in completing all of them.

Being in such close quarters with people was disastrous for his sense of self. He was losing his centering; no longer could he delve into his mind and reflect on his interactions without bias and interest in them. These people were working their way into his skin, digging beneath the surface as they forced him to care about them. He hated it.

What he hated most was that he had been sent in with the knowledge of certain things that made day-to-day life surreal and impossible.

One of Tsunade's main initiatives for him was that he needed to find out how the group responded to issues involving Shikamaru. He was to report to her whether they planned things for him to say, moved items for him in their delusional beliefs that he was still alive, or whether they even actually believed he was still alive. But they believed all right. So did he.

He had seen Shikamaru with his own eyes. That he was seeing a dead man on a daily basis-that he had _conversed_ with a dead man on a day to day basis chilled him to the bone. He had known he was mentally unstable before. But to think that he was seeing dead people now terrified him- was he truly losing his grip or was there other trickery afoot?

Sasori eyed the small strip of sharp metal that he had pried from the bottom of his desk, turning it over and over in his hands. He'd been craving the painful sting of metal against flesh since Naruto had collided with him. The sight of his own blood trickling down his cheeks had brought Jim relief of the sickest sort.

He didn't enjoy the pain itself but the relief it brought. The pent-up frustrations and anxieties couldn't leave him without it. He couldn't make them go away, couldn't rid himself of them, without solidifying them as physically. When he couldn't find something to cut himself with, he would bite his wrists, clenching his teeth down over the skin and bone or his wrists and forearms, marveling at the release he felt when the pain began to tingle through his skin.

Today he had his tool though, and his work would be quick. Pressing the tool gently into the flesh of his pall at first, he exhaled shakily. It still wasn't enough. Sasori smiled slightly at the idea of carving designs into the skin all over his flesh. He wouldn't do that, though. He sighed again, pressing the sharp metal just through the skin. A small bead of blood welled at the break in the skin. He dragged the scrap of metal across his skin a little bit further, letting out a ragged breath when it began to hurt. The cut was only an inch long and not very deep. But it was enough. He couldn't get carried away.

He released the tool from his hand, smiling with slight wonderment as it clattered into the basin of the sink. The line in his left palm bled slightly before the flow began to ebb.

He could make it. Perhaps. Sasori wasn't sure how much longer he could keep up the facade before he broke, but he would damn well go for as long as he could before he broke.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

GAARA SIGHED INTO her shoulder, his left hand roving down her side along the curve of hips, resting there as he cupped her ass in his hand. Sakura smiled into his hair, shifting from her position on top of him. "I have wanted thisfor so long, to just be with you... I don't _feel_ when I'm not with you," she admitted, kissing him on the forehead. His forehead burned where her lips grazed his skin.

"I know," he whispered softly. He wasn't deflecting her statement by not saying he'd waited for it, too. He was clearly agreeing with her. She'd learned very quickly not to be offended by the things he _didn't_ say. It just wasn't his style.

Sakura pulled back to look him in the eye, curious. "Are you okay? You've been very... different the past day or so."

Gaara's eyes widened in surprise. He looked away, his thin brows moving up and down as he hashed out what he wanted to say. "I.." He paused to lick his lips, and then looked away again. When he looked back at her again, his blue eyes were watery with distress. "I feel... I can't love you. I want to be with you, but I can't."

Sakura pulled back, surprisingly calm. "Gaara, you are many things but a liar is not one of them. So don't lie to me."

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek, unsure of why he felt this way. Why did he keep doing this? Garaa looked up at her, his eyes dark with brooding affliction. "But... Sakura there's something wrong inside me. I can't be happy... I don't know how. I _want_ to love you. I just don't think I'm capable of it..."

"Well of course you are!" She protested, a smile rising to her lips. "Because you _do_ love me. Admit it. You _love _me, Gaara Sabaku. You _do_. You let me touch your hair; you let me lay with you when you're tired. You let me kiss you, instead of you just kissing me silly. You can _sleep_ when you're lying next to me."

She paused to let her words sink in. Leaning in to solidify her point, she tenderly pressed her lips to his, her hands cupping his face gently. "How many other people can you say that about?"

"None." he rasped, his hoarse voice grating on her in an emotionally charged way. She used her thumbs to wipe away the tears that had almost threatened to spill.

Sakura pushed one hand against the wall behind him, readjusting her legs on the mattress so her cramped thighs could relax. "Then don't worry. Because I love you... I think more than I've ever loved anybody else. It's said that love and hate are such similar emotions that you can only ever love a person as much as you've hated them. Let me tell you... I _hated _you when we first met. But then I grew to know you, and I realized that I loved you. I don't know if it was hate I truly felt for you anymore. I didn't realize I loved you until I woke up with you sitting in my room, that night I apparently came and got you asking for help in my sleep."

Gaara smiled slightly, pulling her into a kiss. His tongue battled for dominance with hers, his hands travelling slowly up her back, his right traveling further to cup the back of her neck. When they parted their lips and tongues parted from their sensual dance, Gaara traced her lips with the pad of his thumb. "You're so beautiful... " His lips turned up in amusement when blood flooded into her cheeks. She toyed with the hem of her shirt absently, her eyes flicking back up to his shyly.

She wasn't used to him being so sincere. Sakura was used to rough, demanding Gaara who fucked her like no other man had ever been able to. The Gaara who knew all, conquered all, and demanded everything in exchange for nothing. Now _she_ was the one with the answers, the one who was consoling the supposed man without emotions. She had taken a man entombed in stone and chiseled and chiseled until the facade was ripped away and his soul was naked before her. He was no monster. He was a man who'd been tormented by monsters and haunted by the demons of his past. She was his saving grace. The very idea terrified her.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

THE TELEVISION DRONED monotonously in the background, reminding him why he hated getting headaches. His entire body ached. Kankuro stared at the floor, avoiding the bright lights flashing from the screen as he tried to ignore the feelings of anxiety gnawing through his sternum.

Kankuro shifted his gaze from the floor to the ceiling, watching the colors dance and flicker across the surface as he contemplated that his headache had merged into a full-blown migraine. There was no time like the present to go to Shikamaru and get a pill or two, but he knew that he couldn't do that. Pills would make him hazy. If he was hazy he might make a mistake.

And so he sat there, staring at this or that, but never the television screen. He listened to anything but the grating sound of the voices on the screen as they bickered to one another. He could faintly hear Gaara and Sakura talking to one another. He was truly happy for his brother, but the jealous couldn't be avoided. He wasn't jealous of the girl but the feeling. The casual caress or the heat of another body pressed against his own. At the time that he had actually _had _those things he'd hated them, writing them off as bothersome and nonessential. Now he craved the feelings of human contact.

That romantic comedies were the main kind of movie showed in their limited number of channels killed him. Seeing people so happy and content when he couldn't be gnawed at him endlessly. He shared the pain of the men when they were rejected or rebuked by their women and then he hated them when they won her back.  
His love life was not the only source of his depression. He felt that his and Gaara's relationship was quickly sliding out of his grasp. Kankuro was happy that Gaara had _finally_ found someone he could be with and just be himself with, but where did that leave him? He knew he was being a selfish, self-pitying, and awful excuse of an older brother, at least in his own eyes, but that only exacerbated his feelings of despair. Sasori would have no problem slipping into his spot and filling the void that he had unwittingly created.

When he heard a door creak open, he looked up from his knuckles in surprise, his eyes and ears immediately applying themselves to the task of locating the nighttime sneak and seeing who it was. Seeing that it was Naruto, he immediately reined himself in and reminded himself that Naruto was not an enemy. He was a friend. Was he still a friend? He felt so abandoned by everyone that he couldn't recall just having a good time with anyone anymore.

"You know," Naruto said softly, sitting down next to him, "You can always just have sex with the new girl. That'll make you feel better."

Kankuro couldn't help but smile; he'd been expecting Naruto to tell him that he needed to stop moping around. "Nah, I'm pretty sure Kiba is... interested in her. I can't do that to him. He needs to get over Kallou somehow..."

"Well. What about Kai? If you really want her back-"

"She doesn't want me. I caught her making out with Gaara a week ago..." Kankuro swallowed the feeling of defeat, beating it down. It was utterly degrading to have to admit that to Naruto, but he hadn't admitted it to anyone thus far.

Naruto paused, surprised. Then he laughed. "No! That was Sasori. She told me all about it. He just randomly sneaks up on her and makes out with her. They haven't had sex yet, so there's still hope..."

Kankuro's brows furrowed as he stared at his palms. "Sasori? What is his deal... he comes into this place and he's already taking Gaara from me why is he after her, too?"

His blonde-haired companion cringed when he heard Kankuro's voice crack in distress. "Look... I don't think he is trying to take them from you. He's lonely, too. I don't trust him a _lick_, but... I _know _what it's like to be pushed into a position where you're placed with a new family. You don't fit in. You don't know what to do. You're stranded. So what can you do? You find someone you think might accept you. Kai fits that profile."

"But what about Gaara? Why would-"

"They're twins. What can you even expect, Kankuro? But he's just as much _your_ brother as he is Gaara's. You seem to forget that..." pointed out Naruto, his voice taking on a forceful edge. "I just want you to be happy, but you're trying to wallow in your own filth. Go talk to her. Talk to Sasori. I won't do it for you. This is something you need to do yourself."

Kankuro groaned, taking his head in his hands. He combed his fingers through his hair, distracted by how evidently he needed a shower. "I need to shower. I will shower first. Then I will... or maybe tomorrow."

"Don't worry about how she reacts!" Naruto said, calling after Kankuro as he marched off to shower. "Just say what you need to say!"

Kankuro lifted a hand in parting, and then shut his door behind him. When he finally _did_ talk to her, it would definitely be interesting. He dreaded the conversation.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

KAI LEANED BACK from the doorway, Naruto's advice to Kankuro ringing through her ears. Did she want him back? Could she forgive him?

Sasori tugged on her arm, pulling her back to the bed so he could assault her lips some more. "Quit it, I'm thinking," she snapped, yanking her arm free so she could yank her hair back into a messy bun.

"Think less and kiss me some more," he demanded, pulling her along with him anyway. "You'd rather kiss me, anyway."

Kai growled against his lips, trying to push him away. Then she realized he was right; it was too late to think about this. She wondered absently why they hadn't progressed from kissing, but realized it was inconsequential. She wouldn't have had sex with him anyway. She hadn't with Kankuro. Would it be so bad to-Kai banished the thought, knowing that if she ever forgave Kankuro and gave him another chance he wouldn't have been so keen to find out her and Sasori had had sex.  
Eventually they got tired of kissing and ended up just laying there next to each other.

"Are you lonely, Sasori?"

Sasori rolled onto his side to stare at her with surprise. "What?"

"Are you lonely? Like... just lonely. You're new and you didn't really make friends..." Kai's brown eyes stared into his dark blues with curiosity. The eyes staring back at her were void of emotion for a moment and then sparked with a strange emotion. Was it anger?

"No, but I just come make out with you ever I run out of things to think about. Then I can think about other things." Sasori's eyes lightened slightly when he saw a spark of anger ignite within her.

"Oh really? What kind of things do you think about?" she asked in an accusatory tone. She mentally braced herself for the barrage of rude remarks that she expected.  
Sasori smirked as he leaned in a little bit. "Well," he began, his right hand trailing from behind her left ear and down to the nape of her neck. "I wonder what would happen if," he leaned down, brushing his lips against the column of her throat. "I did this."

Kai sucked in a breath of surprise as he gently raked his teeth across the sensitive flesh and gripped her arm with his hand. His tongue lashed out to taste her skin as his hand drifted from her arm to her chest.

"Wait!" she protested, trying to roll away from him. She _knew_ what he was doing. He wanted to have sex with her so that Kankuro wouldn't want her. "I still want to talk to Kankuro! You intercepted me... now that he wants to talk to me-"

"_Why_ do you want him back?" demanded Sasori, propping himself up on one arm so he could glare at her more effectively. "He cheated on you! He... He-"  
"Yeah, but I _love _him," whispered Kai, her voice wavering. "I know that feeling can go away but I don't _want _it to. I don't know if I want him back. I know you don't care, otherwise I wouldn't bother to hang on, but... I think he at least deserves a chance. He's miserable. I'm miserable..."

Sasori's gaze hardened over instantly. He pulled back from her with a low sigh, averting his eyes. "Fine."

She was wrong; he _did_care. He just hadn't wanted her to know that because he'd known Kankuro still had feelings for her. He thought he could intercept her. He had never planned on actually having feelings for her, but it had happened. That she so quickly wrote him off as not caring dug deeply at the corners of his conscience as he stalked out of her room. Now he was alone; alone and lonelier than ever.

**Author's Note: I'm sorry this is so short. I've been TRYING to make them longer but it's not working so well for me. This felt like the right place to end it. Please hang with me: I know this seems to be dragging on forever, but I am finally figuring out where to move things along to next. I just need to get some things dealt with first. **

**Voting corner: **  
**You might not like it but I need your help. **

**Should Kai be with... **  
**A.] Kankuro. **  
**B.] Sasori. **

**I've been reading a fic that one of my very good friends rights, and it's been KankuroKai from day 1. I re-read the whole thing and dammit it has grown on me so hardcore. I NEED YOUR HELPPPP. So let me know what you think. **

**And is the GaaSaku coming along? I really enjoy writing for them. xD 3 What do you all want more of, besides plot progression?**


	30. Daddy Wasn't There

THE HUM OF conversation buzzed around them as they ate in silence. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence but everyone was hungry and impatient to down their breakfast. Kankuro seemed especially quiet as he ate, his eyes glued to his bowl of oatmeal.

The food was disgusting and bland but he shoveled it into his mouth dutifully, eating all of it. Gaara, slightly perturbed by his brother's strange behavior, merely picked at his own food. Sakura wouldn't look at him directly; he knew she still felt guilty for the way she'd acted and how Kankuro was feeling now, but the past was past. It couldn't be helped.

Sasuke and Naruto both appeared very tired, but neither of them complained. Nothing strange or out of the ordinary had happened the day before, aside from Naruto and Kankuro's conversation, which Naruto had related to Sasuke with great delight. He and Sasuke were both pleased that Kankuro was purportedly taking steps to mend his broken ego. Sasuke still felt regret for the way he had assaulted Kankuro. It was obvious to him that Kankuro had problems with people touching him like that, but he didn't know what they were.

Everyone looked up in surprise at the sound of a chair scraping back. Sasori wordlessly stood up, walking away with his tray. He didn't bother to push his chair in or even look back at the table. His failing to acknowledge a single one of them all morning was definitely out of character. Kai was beginning to feel directly responsible for his strange behavior.

Kankuro frowned, wondering what had put Sasori in such a peculiar mood. He couldn't help but notice Kai's crestfallen attitude, which caused him to wonder what had conspired between the two. He didn't let himself think about it long, knowing that it would only get his hopes up for nothing. It seemed incredibly too fortuitous for her to suddenly be uninvolved with the red-haired sexual monster that had just stormed out of the room.

Kiba used his feet to readjust the chair that Sasori had abandoned, propping his feet up on it as he leaned back to lazily suck on the end of his spoon. He'd eaten a breakfast of milk, sugar, and barely any cereal. "Well, it seems that he is not in the best mood..."

"Yeah, well, he can't expect one of us to follow after him and see if he's okay," pointed out Naruto. "I mean, come on. This isn't a movie, that's not how it works. I expect he wants us all to sit around playing poker and wagering out cigarettes like Jack Nicholson, too."

With a sigh of discontent Kankuro pushed back from the table, his chair groaning in protest. "You guys bitch like little girls. What do you think this is?" he demanded, his voice mocking and snide. "Mean Girls? Oh no. You've worn sweats three times this week, Naruto. It's the end of the world."

Naruto smiled as his friend departed; that was the kind of response he'd have expected had Kankuro not been so bitterly depressed lately. That Kankuro was responding in such a manner meant that Naruto had been effective in his talk last night. It still bothered him that Kankuro had been so quiet all morning, but that couldn't be helped.

Sasuke wasted no time in standing up as well, not wanting to sit around in this droll place any longer. "I heard the other wing got a new member. Let's go... visit, shall we, my lovely idiot?"

Naruto chuckled, brazenly kissing Sasuke on the cheek before nipping his earlobe affectionately. "Oh, but of course, you delicious little son of bitch. Shall we?"

"Let's shall," Sasuke purred, his hand grazing Naruto's bottom as they turned away from the table, carrying their trays to the garbage can.

Fae made a face, dropping her plastic spork back into her Styrofoam bowl. "I don't know whether to be repulsed of gush and say how cute they are."

Sakura couldn't stem the fresh peals of laughter that racked her body; the girl had an extremely valid point. Sasuke and Naruto were very open about their sexuality and furthermore their relationship. Naruto had finally asserted that he was bi, but was clearly so in love with Sasuke that it seemed strange that Sasuke would get jealous of any women. "Amen."

"Hey, leave 'em alone, they're just too little lovebirds nested in a tree that just so happens to be a few birds shirt of an aviary. Let em be." Kiba leaned back in his chair, so it stood on two legs. No one was sure what exactly he'd meant, but they didn't say anymore on the subject.

"Today's a free day. What are we doing since we have nothing better to do?" Shikamaru asked with a sigh, looking up from his bowl of cereal lazily. He'd been pretty quiet lately. Sometimes Gaara forgot he was there. When he remembered that he shouldn't be there, his stomach almost bottomed out.

"Well we'll probably hit the library, then hang out and do nothing. Or who knows, maybe we'll find something to do," mused Sakura, standing up as well. Gaara immediately stood as well, grabbing her tray and tucking it under his own. Sakura's lips parted in surprise, but she thanked him as soon as her brain started functioning again.

That had been unexpected. The rest of the group followed suit, not wanting to leave anyone behind. Sasuke and Naruto were left behind to do whatever it is they had left to do, but beyond that all of them left at the same time.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"I CAN'T BELIEVE they put him back into the group..." Sasuke groaned as he and Naruto ambled down the hallway and around a bend on their way to the library. Sasuke's hands wrapped pressed into his own skull in pure frustration, a low, rasping growl escaping him in the process.

Naruto rubbed a soothing hand across Sasuke's lower back. "Ah, he can't be so bad! He seems really fun... You weren't so agitated by him just now, were you?

Sasuke stopped walking in surprise. "No... No, I wasn't."

"See?" mused Naruto, clapping his hands together in conclusion. "He can't be so bad. He's either reformed or you have progressed. Congratulations, Sasuke Uchiha. You do have patience!"

Naruto's smile deepened as Sasuke's agitated demeanor dissipated, the raven-haired boy slowing to hold the door open for his lover as they entered the library.

Kankuro greeted Naruto with a half-hearted smile before returning to his book. Naruto was amused to see that Kai was still sitting her in usual seat next to him, though he wasn't sure for what reason. He didn't know how she would react to Kankuro's conversation with her when it arose.

Naruto wandered to the stacks, looking for actual reading material. It had been a long time since he'd been here last and he was tired of staring at porn. He needed to stimulate his brain with something useful.  
The fantasy section was something he hadn't ever checked out, but he knew from past experience that books of this genre were ones that he could very easily slip into. As he picked up a red book of a good size entitled 'Inkheart,' he vaguely wondered if Kai would forgive Kankuro. Furthermore, he wondered, flipping the book open to read the first page, would she take him back?

Finding the book to his liking, he quickly scouted about to see if there was a sequel. Unable to focus his mind on the task, he casually wandered over to Lib, the librarian. Perhaps she could help him. Lord only knew she'd be pleased as a pig in shit to see him actually reading literature.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SQUATTING DOWN AND shifting his weight onto the balls of his feet, Sasori scanned the lowest shelf for books. He'd been drawn to the library before he'd even known he was coming here. Books were one form of solace that had always provided him comfort in his lonely existence. They gave him everything, asking for nothing in return other than wordlessly begging him to the turn their pages.

With a sigh, he pulled a book that he'd already read free. He knew what happened in the book, but he remember how his life had been when he'd read it. Worse than now—that was how it had been. He was hoping it would make him feel better about his current situation.

He quickly marched over to Lib, letting her fill the card in the back of the book out for him. Sasori could see that the only see in his wing's small group of chairs was directly across from Kai and Kankuro. It bothered him, but he wasn't about to let either of them know that.

Bearing a look of sheer apathy, he plopped down across from them, flicking his hair out of his face with a careless motion. He didn't look up as he flipped the book open. Casually he shifted into a cross-legged position, his too-short jeans pulling away from his ankles. The sudden rush of cool air was irritating. He paid it no notice as he continued to read.

What he did notice as he read was that the book's emotional hold on him was mocking him. The events occurring in his life before had indeed been much worse. However, the events occurring just now were hitting him in a much more profound way than any other events with supposed strangers had.

Sasori could feel his pale skin itching with the need to be abused. Breathing felt difficult just now; the knot of anxiety in his chest, that physical manifestation of his emotional woes, was closing off his lungs. He was suffocating.

Before he knew was he was doing, he was on his feet, evacuating the premises. He didn't know where he was going, but he went nonetheless.

When Sasori found himself standing in front of Tsunade's office, rocking back and forth, onto his heels and then the balls of his feet, with the damnable book clutched in his hands, he exhaled in discontent. Had he truly come here of his own subconscious volition? Perhaps it was time that he finally had a talk with her.

Sasori glanced around himself wearily, not wanting to be seen. A quick six steps to the left showed the hallway clear of a people, save for a few orderlies and straggling patients. Exactly twenty-two steps in the opposite direction provided him a clear view down that hallway. It was more crowded than the last, but the majority of the people were heading back to the elderly wing of the institution.

Satisfied by the security of his position, Sasori nervously gripped the handle of the door and let himself into Tsunade's office. They had a lot of things to talk about.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

GAARA WAS NOT surprised to see Sasori get up and abruptly leave again. Call it intuition, but he could tell that his brother was feeling particularly jaded this morning. From previous observations he could tell that Sasori longed to fit in. He got along with everyone well enough, but it was obvious to even the outsiders that Sasori was only accepted into their group for the fact that he was not going away. Sasori, being so closely related to Gaara, was more of a threat than a friend at the moment.

There was a peculiar emotion tickling at his chest, but he didn't know what it was. Sakura sat a few chairs away from him, lazily reading through a romance novel. Gaara smirked slightly, knowing that the only thing she liked about them was the so-called tastefully written sex scenes.

He'd give her something to write about later, if she so felt inclined to do it. Wordlessly, he stood, intending to follow his brother. Sakura, noticing his movement, glanced at him in slight alarm. Gaara's calm look of indifference didn't give her many clues as to where he was going, but that he acknowledged her before leaving soothed her slightly.

Silently creeping after his brother, Gaara hung close to the wall, intending to be as silent and inconspicuous as possible. This wasn't very hard for him; most patients were still terrified of him and the orderlies didn't bother with him unless instructed. If only they knew how soft he'd gotten inside... maybe they wouldn't give him such an easy time.

When Sasori stopped in front of Tsunade's door, Gaara frowned slightly. He could feel Sasori's confusion, maybe even apprehension. Gaara quickly ducked behind a trolley laden with cleaning supplies and linens, narrowly avoiding discovery. What would Sasori do if he caught him snooping? Gaara mused at the thought of Sasori challening him to a brawl to the death.

Gaara stepped forward carefully, pondering the outcome of such a fight. Sasori was ony a little bit taller than him.; he obviously had more muscle than Gaara, having had a better diet for the entirety of his life. Gaara was crafty, though, and chose to appear almost sickly thin. He'd never seen Sasori fight... Gaara scowled, realizing he was getting too lax. He needed to know what Sasori was capable of at all times. He'd not been worried about it becasue Sasori had involved himself with one person. Now that his twin was meeting with Tsunade of his own accord... Gaara needed to pay attention.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

AT THE SOUND of her door opening, Tsunade's head snapped up in surpise. She didn't normally have visitors; when she did they were always sure to knock. Upon seeing Sasori, she frowned slightly before sitting back and folding her hands on her desk in a business-like gesture and crossing her leg.

"Ah, Sasori. How can I help you today?" she inquired, raising an irritated brow. His showing up unannounced couldn't be a good thing

Sasori didn't answer her; he sat down in front of her, resting the book on her desk. He watched her gaze flicker to the book, read the title, and then back to his face in unveiled interest. He could see the slight confusion in her eyes. He wondered what story his face was telling her.

"Well? Did you decapitate your morning nurse? Rough up an orderly for giving you those dreadful high-waters?" Tsunade mused, her brows raising together in amusment this time, not scorn. Sasori didn't miss the change in her expression. She didn't miss the lack of change in his. "What's wrong?"

As irritated as she had been by him coming ot her unannouced, she was a little surprised to see him so agitated. She had assumed that he was having problems with the job she'd given him Now she realized that he was havnig problems of his own.

"I... I don't know if I'm right for this job anymore..." he admitted, the corners of his mouth twitching spasmodically. "He's still there."

"What?" she asked sharply, instantly intrigued and alarmed by his bizarre confession. "Who?"

"Shikamaru... He's... I've seen him. Talked to him, even. I know I'm not sane, but... I feel like I'm losing my mind completely, Tsunade. I'm not used to being around these people all the time! I'm used to making friends, fucking them over, and then skipping out! I can't... I can't... They're trying to get in and I don't want them to!" Sasori's hands covered his ears and he frantically clutched at his hair; he was trying to block out sounds that she couldn't hear.

"Sasori... I'm sorry that you're having a hard time. But, really, you've talked to him? Describe him for me, I'm interested to see how you've seen him." Tsunade had never showed Sasori the pictures of Shikamaru; he hadn't wanted to see them either which worked well for her. She needed to know what was really going on there. She wasn't a believer in the paranormal, but it was a possibility.

"Dark hair... Dark eyes... Lazy as fuck all he hardly ever does if lay around and sleep. He's got... well his face is long and he looks high all the time. His hair is long; he pulls it back into a tight ponytail near the top of his head most of the time. From what I've seen those he's fucking brilliant. Why can I see him? I thought you said he was dead..." Sasori pulled his feet up onto the chair, wrapping his arms around his knees. "I can't take it... I can't do it!"

"Yes, you can, Sasori! You're helping them and you'e helping me, too. I think this means that... I think it means that his ghost really is here..."

"Ghosts aren't real!" hissed Sasori, glaring at her with such ferocity that her resolve almost crumbled.

Tsunade rubbed her temples in distress, exhaling slowly to calm herself. "Sasori, I don't believe in them, but... What's to say it's impossible? You can lose your mind and retain your body. I see it every damn day. Perhaps it is... possible to lose your body but have your mind linger?"

"I don't know..." muttered Sasori, a bitter edge cutting into his voice. "I can't keep lying to Gaara, though. When he finds out... I don't expect him to be take it well. He will undoubtedly try to kill me. So I suggest that we tell him, if not both him and Kankuro..."

Tsunade's features softened as she took in the utterly lost young man that sat before her. He was so terribly confused that he didn't know how to act. She was the only person he'd ever had a connection with that he hadn't purposefully severed. "Sasori... I know that you aren't used to having friends, but if you ever need to talk you know I am here to talk to. Anything you'd have to say would be confidential. I know that Gaara has... access to the files so I would have to put it in a more personal file."

Sasori's eyes widened in surprise, both at her offer and at her knowledge. "How did you know that?"

"I told Temari to give him the files if he asked," Tsunade mused, her eyes sparkling deviously. "Don't tell him I told you that. Even if we tell them about everything else... don't tell him about that. Don't tell anyone about that. It is highly illegal and should anyone find out... I can't help them anymore."

Sasori nodded as he pulled himself out of his chair. "I... I understand." As he turend to leave, Tsunade called him back.

"Wait... You know that my offer still stands, right? No matter when you need it. I will be here, or Jiraiya.."

Sasori smiled slighly, pulling the black device from his pocket. Tsunade brightened upon seeing it; he'd kept it and further more he was carrying it in case he needed her. She wondered if Gaara was carrying the one that Jiraiya had given him.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

Fae stared at the book cradled in her lap; the words jumped out at her, begging to be read, but she refused. She couldn't focus. There were too many new things to admire. The metal bookends that held the books up-right; she could imagine the lustrous shine they must have had when they were knew .

The small end-tables placed randomly next to chairs in the various seatings groups; the thick wood was never shiny but she could admire the quaint shape of them. She was catalogging. This was the place. The things were inside. For each and every thing, there was a specific place. Or was there? Some things were haphazardly strewn here or there; where did those belong?

Fae felt like a page in the magazine that lay open on the floor. The face staring back at her might as well have been her own. They could not read her, but they could see her; where did she fit in? Where did she go? One careless step would rip that page right out of the magazine, yanking her along with it.

A small feeling of urgency gripped her in the recesses of her mind, telling her to pick the magazine up and protect it, but she rejected it, pushing it down. That was a crazy thought. Magazines are irrelivent.

'Am I irrelevent?' she asked herself. Then she sighed in frustration, knowing that there was no possible way she could sit here in peace. Her mind was drifting and she couldn't hold on.

"What are you reading?" she asked, turning to the brown-haired boy who sat next to her.

He looked up in surprise, his cheeks turning a brighter red than the carefully drawn-on triangles. She wondered if they were tattoos or if he drew them on each morning. "Well... actually, it's Harry Potter. Don't judge."

Fae smiled slightly; she adored that book. "Don't worry. I don't do that." She lifted up her book, flashing him the cover. She was reading Harry Potter as well. He was on the third book, and she was on the sixth. Fae had read every book at least six times, but the stories never got old. Unless she was distracted.

"Sweet! I haven't gotten that far, but... I like them a lot." He admitted, his cheeks turning red again. Fae repressed a smile Why was he embarrassed that he liked the books?

"So do I!" she agreed. Fae almost winced when she remembered that she was talking to the boy who had pissed on her upon first meeting her. That had not been the most pleasant transition in her life; in fact, it was the most upset she'd been in a long time.

"Yeah... So does Harry end up-"

"No spoilers from me, mister." Fae rushed, effectively silencing him before he could ask her. She didn't want to have to resist the urge. "So, I have a question..."

Kiba's face fell, and he looked instantly nervous. "What?"

"... Why did you pee on me?"

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

GAARA NARROWED HIS eyes, waiting for Tsunade's door to open. Sasori had explaining to do. Gaara pulled himself out of his crouch when the door-knob twisted and the door itself began to pull away from the frame. A shock of red-orange hair passed through the door, and a long, trim body followed. Gaara stepped forward immediately, intending to cut off his brother's path.

Sasori froze upon seeing Gaara. They locked eyes for a moment; Sasori's shoulders were tensed, and his hands were raised, ready to curl into fists at any instant. Gaara furrowed his brows and tilted his head to the side as he tried to piece together why Sasori had been in there. Sasori pushed his chin forward, raising his left eyebrow as he investigated Gaara's motives for following me.

"Why did you follow me?" Sasori asked softly, his tone casual and calm.

"Why are you sneaking off to see Tsunade?" demanded Gaara. His voice was low and gravelly; his was aggresive.

Sasori smiled slightly, amused that Gaara was actualy keeping tabs on him. Smart boy. "I needed to ask her for some Tampons. I'm having one of those... heavy-flow days."

Gaara's lip curled back in a sneer, irritated at the casual deflection. He was not used to people refusing to cower before him in fear. "Answer my question."

"Not right now,." Sasori breathed. Gaara longed to punch him in the face; his voice was so calm and light-he wasn't at all afraid of him. "Why don't you try asking again later, when I'm not craving cuddles and chocolate."

'Why is he referencing periods?' Gaara wondered, completely bewildered by his behavior. "You are lucky I don't feel like getting dirty."

Sasori giggled, covering his mouth with one hand. "Why? Afraid you'll get your precious teddy-bear bloody, too?"

Gaara froze, his teeth gritting together in rage. Is that where his beloved Ai had gone? Without thinking, he launched himself forward, one hand already pulling back so he could ram it forward into Sasori's face. Sasori, quite unprepare for this attack, flew backwards into Tsunade's door. The glass, which was inforced with wire-mesh between the layers, did not break. Gaara was pleased to hear Sasori's head reverberate off of it with a loud "THOCK!"

Sasori growled deep in his chest, rolling onto his knees. Gaara was still standing, looking down on him triumphantly. He'd been debating the extent that he would bash Sasori's face in, but Sasori was beating him to it-literally. His hand latched around Gaara's ankle, yanking him to the floor with an effective jerk.

Suddenly finding themselves in a fully-fledge brawl, the two brothers pummeled every inch of each other that they could get their hands on. "You're such a fucking pussy. You're how old and you still sleep with a teddy-bear?"

Gaara got him good for that one, slamming his fist into Sasori's mouth. Sasori's perfect teeth sunk into's Gaara's skin, cutting him around the knuckles. Luckily all of his teeth were unharmed; none of them were knocked loose or wobbly. "I still get laid I fail to see the relevance," snapped Gaara. That one had hurt Sasoril; he wasnt' getting laid and he'd just gotten rejected.

"Yeah? Well at least I know my father!""

**Author's Note: Muahahahaha. xD Bet you didn't expect that. :] Things are heating up. From all around. SOOO. Ya better hang on and hang on tight. Cuz things are about to get interesting. Sorry if there are errors-I didn't have a chance to Word Doc this and check it. :(**

**In lou of their fight...**

**As punishment for fighting, what shoudl happen?**  
**A.] Ooohhh bad boys! Send them to solitary to think things out.**  
**-Please note: Might result in Gaara missing Sakura and some action there.**

**B.] Tsunade needs to sit them down and explain things to them!**  
**-She wanted to wait, but should she tell Gaara and Kankuro the information that she and Sasori have been with-holdingf from them ?**

**And about last chapter's vote-this WILL come into play. But I don't want to rush it. :] 3 Bear with me. I love you all, please review!**


	31. Bloody Knuckles

"WHY DID YOU pee on me?"

Kiba's stomach flip-flopped quickly; was she really going to ask him this right _now_? Why was she asking him now? "I-..." He felt the heat rush into his face and looked back into his lap. "Err..."

"I'm not mad anymore ... or rather, I won't be mad after you explain why. Getting pissed on straight off the bat wasn't exactly the welcome I had expected..." Fae admitted, toying with her necklace as she shyly looked down at her book.

"I'm sorry I did that," Kiba murmured, scratching his neck in a sheepish gesture.

"I'd say 'don't sweat it; it happens to the best of us,' but, well, you know,"she laughed, her face lighting up with her apparent amusement.

"Well, to be honest, my girlfriend had just left. You took her room, and I ... I was marking my territory." Kiba's face was so red he looked sunburned. He did everything possibly to avoid looking at her.

" Marking your territory? Why on Earth-"

"I'm a dog. Maybe just part-dog, but yeah..." Kiba looked up at her nervously, trying to gauge her reaction. Most people did not respond well when he told them his secret.

Fae studied his fade for a moment before smiling slightly. "That explains a lot."

Kiba wasn't sure whether to be offended or relieved. So he opted instead to he confused and pray that things worked out in his favor.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

'_TAMPONS? HEAVY FLOW day_? ' Sasori stared at his reflection in the mirror, bracing his palms against the sides of the sink as he leaned in to inspect his own features. Much of the day had passed, but his mental injuries still felt as fresh as they had when he'd woken up this morning. '_You're losing your touch, Sasori. First the girl. Now period jokes. You're turning into a fucking _pussy.._. maybe that's why your mind is stuck there... '_

Another thought occurred to him as he leered at himself; he hadn't slept with her. He wanted to-he'd wanted to since he met her. That was the problem-he'd fuck her and then his problems would be solved.

_'Are you fucking gay now_?' His reflection sneered at him from the mirror. He exhaled through his nose angrily, noticing how his cheek reddened with his rage. '_Gaara's a problem, too; don't tell me you want to fuck _him_ as well_?'

Sasori turned away from the mirror, trying to ignore the thoughts that raced through his mind. He knew he wasn't gay, especially not for his brother for God's sake, but he was in denial. It wasn't just the sex. She'd amused him; it was odd.

That his problem could not be so easily solved greatly pissed him off. What had he done to deserve this? That answer was simple, and he couldn't stem the flow of words that tumbled from his lips in a harsh whisper. "You let her in. You let her in, when you knew better. You should have kept her_ out_; but you didn't, because you're stupid. _What_ would_ mother_ say?"

'_She'd say I've been very, _very _bad_...' thought Sasori, his fingers toying with the piece of sharp metal in his pocket. The small strip of metal could bring him relief. Mother would have denied him that luxury; she didn't want him to be relieved.

Luckily, she wasn't here. Sasori smiled as he pressed the sharp end of the metal to his thigh. He sighed slightly, pleased that he could bring himself some sort of peace. When he gently cut into his skin, he was irritated to find that his mind was not put at ease in the slightest. The sting of his flesh being cleaved still hurt just as much as it always had, but without the emotional release it was no longer soothing. His heart ached just as much as his skin.

A slew of filthy swears flew from his lips as he flung the metal into the corner of the room. Sasori angrily bridged his elbows on his thighs, resting his jaw on his fists. The anger built until, desperately, he flung himself onto the floor in search of the piece of metal. He needed it. He would just try again and then it would work. It had to work; if not... Sasori frantically shoved the thought from his mind, soft utterances of desperation fluttering from his mouth as he feverishly searched for it.

He rejoiced when he found it, curling his long fingers around the seemingly insignificant scrap of metal. Sasori leaned his back against the wall of the bathroom, staring at the tool in his hand. It was junk in any other man's hand; in his hand it was a tool that could bring death or sweet relief.

Sasori gently pressed the sharp end to the palm of his left hand, over the cut from last time. _That_ cut had been effective. He'd start there; it had worked_ then_ and he desperately hoped it would work_ now_. He pressed down on the blade, splitting the skin. Nothing. He pressed down harder, causing a small pocket of blood to swell from the wound. Still nothing.

His lips began to tremble as the reality of his situation hit him. Still in denial, he shifted the blade to his wrist, etching a small line deeply into the flesh. When it began to bleed freely, without providing relief to his mental trauma, tears of frustration began to roll down his cheeks. Again and again he slashed through his skin, only to find the same end-result each time. He felt no relief.

A cry of despair escaped him as he realized what he'd done to himself. Blood dripped from his arms, staining his pants in rough, ugly patterns. What had he done to himself? Sasori collapsed onto his side, sobbing in frustration and self-loathing. _'Is this what you wanted; to wither away on the floor while your brothers sit back and laugh?'_

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

NARUTO TILTED HIS head to the side, a sneer forming on his lips as he realized he hadn't drawn Sasuke's neck properly. "Sasuke, dear, would you tilt your chin up just a little bit? I screwed up your neck."

Sasuke scowled, but he complied nonetheless. "This is ridiculous..."

"What?" demanded Naruto, his eyes narrowing in hurt. "But, I... I wanted—"

"It's not your painting, you idiot, it's me. I_ feel_ like an _idiot_!" snapped Sasuke, sharply looking over his shoulder to glare at his blonde-haired lover. "I feel like any minute someone is going to walk in and make fun of me until I wither away into nothing."

"All right, mister big-shot! How about you draw _me_ then?" suggested Naruto, wiping his paint-covered fingers on his bare chest. He then propped his hand on his hip, cocking it to the left as he swirled the paintbrush in his dominant hand.

Sasuke sighed, cocking a skeptical brow as he took in Naruto's scantily clad appearance. Naruto was wearing Sasuke's boxers—they were beige with small fans all over them. Something girly and stupid that his mother had loved. Why he felt the need to clothe his genitalia in them was beyond him, but all of his underwear bore that symbol. Sasuke stared for another moment longer, enjoying the view of Naruto's near perfect physique. For such a junk-food addict, he'd inherited a few good genes from whoever his parents were. He had the body of a Greek _God. _

"Fine. Get your ass over here. You better not have made me look like a whale," Sasuke muttered, scratching his cheek self-consciously as he noticed the smear of blue paint on Naruto's cheek as they passed each other. He took a minute to adjust his shirt and pants. Then he picked up a blank canvas as Naruto lay down on his back, propping himself up on an elbow.

Sasuke smiled when he saw Naruto's painting of him. Gently he lifted it up, the smile still tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I love it, Naruto... it's perfect."

"Thanks!" chirped Naruto. Sasuke looked up at the slight rustling sound, almost dropping the painting when he saw Naruto.

Naruto, suddenly naked, was leaning seductively on an elbow. The effect was completely ruined by the awkward splay of his legs that practically displayed his package and a finger pressed lewdly to his nipple. Sasuke's mouth fell open when Naruto began to speak to him a breathy and overly-sexually tone, "Draw me like one of your_ French_ girls, Sasuke."

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

KANKURO WAS DRAWN to the sound of ragged sobbing, so obviously masculine that it scared him. He hadn't heard the sound of another man crying in a long time. In his experience, if a man was crying, something had gone dreadfully wrong—so wrong that it probably couldn't be helped but they still hoped and prayed something could change whatever it was.

His initial thought was that it was Gaara, but that was wildly off-the-wall, considering Gaara seemed a lot more at ease than he had in a long time. Kankuro wished he hadn't gotten up from the couch to investigate; the sound was obviously coming from the bathroom he shared with his brothers. It had to be Sasori. Who else could it be?

Flicking his eyes to the heavens, Kankuro frowned as he mentally questioned God's logic. _'Seriously? You send him in to fuck shit up for me and now you want me to help him? That's fucked up._'

Kankuro's gaze fell to his feet as he shuffled them anxiously. He remembered how pitifully he'd cried just a few days ago. He'd thought all hope was lost—Naruto was the only one who'd had the nerve to come and talk to him. Not that he had been crying nearly as loud as Sasori—Kankuro had learned over the years to be silent when he had to cry. Not that he cried often—it'd been a few years since he cried until just the other day. Had Naruto not stepped in and cheered him up, he probably wouldn't have ever made it out of the emotional pit he was in.

Scowling, Kankuro rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. It was an anxious habit; he couldn't help himself. He knew he was going to Hell—that much he wouldn't argue with, but he felt it was common human decency to at least make sure the guy was okay. Not because he was just anybody, but because they were—at least supposedly—brothers. Sucking in a deep breath, Kankuro nudged the slightly-ajar door open a bit further. It smacked into something large—he assumed it was Sasori, because the bathroom was otherwise clean—and a low whine resulted. Definitely Sasori.

Kankuro squeezed through the narrow opening, twisting immediately to take a look at Sasori. The bloody mess covering Sasori's arms was smeared across his pants, the floor, and his face. Kankuro could feel his stomach wrenching in utter disgust.

"What the Hell did you do to yourself?" he demanded, dropping down onto his knees. He was curious as to where the blood was coming from. Kankuro was surprised to see that the blood was coming from everywhere. There were at least fifty knicks and scratches on the red-head's arms, most of them centered over the wrists and hardly any of them on the right arm.

"It doesn't work anymore," gasped Sasori, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and pulling him close.

Kankuro was disturbed by this—Sasori had pulled him so close their noses were almost touching and he could feel the hot, panicked breaths that fanned across his cheeks. Yet again, his stomach churned as he was reminded of his own demons that he thought he'd buried. Sasori's dead eyes bore into his own; Kankuro wondered if his own eyes looked so desperately void of life.

"What doesn't?" he obliged, humoring Sasori's obvious plee for attention.

"The cutting. It still hurts!" rambled Sasori, abruptly letting go of Kankuro's shirt and crumpling back to the floor. His hands laced at the back of his neck, and he shook his head back and forth, bumping his right arm against the floor repeatedly. When he began to feverishly whisper to himself, Kankuro narrowed his eyes and bit his lip in confusion. He couldn't make out what Sasori was saying.

"Of course it still hurts! You fucking _idiot;_ if you cut yourself, you bleed, and it _hurts_!" Kankuro pointed out angrily, trying to pull him off the floor.

"No! Not there!" Sasori screamed, trying to pull free. Kankuro faltered, wondering if Sasori meant what he thought he did. Was that another startling thing they had in common? No; Sasori continued to speak, shoving that thought from Kankuro's mind. "Up here!" growled Sasori, smacking his bloody hand against his forehead. He began to slap himself repeatedly, and Kankuro had to grab his wrist to stop him. "Up here! It still hurts!"

"Stop it!" Kankuro could feel the cuts beneath his fingers, but it couldn't be helped. "You're going to die if we don't get you some help. I don't particularly want to save your life, but I don't need Tsunade freaking out on me for you dying in my bathroom."

A brief flicker of life crossed through Sasori's eyes. "Tsunade!"

Sasori wrenched his arm free, ignoring Kankuro's surprised exhalation. Kankuro glared at the strange device in Sasori's bloody hand, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion when his brother pressed a button and began to speak into it.

"I'm hurt, Tsunade! I hurt myself bad... I'm gonna die. You need to get here before I die. I don't want to die! He left me here... I have too much work to do... Too much work to do..."

Over and over again he repeated that phrase. 'Too much work to do...'

Kankuro sat down on the floor, glaring suspiciously at his brother. Sasori was now sitting up half-way, his shoulders leaning against the wall and the rest of his body lying down on the floor. His long arms hung down at his sides, resting on the floor, face-up so Kankuro could see the blood oozing from each injury with every pulse. Sasori's eyes were closed, but his mouth remained slightly-open, breathy whispers tumbling endlessly from bloody lips. How had so much blood accumulated on his face?

He was no longer crying, though, so perhaps that was a good thing. Kankuro had no idea what to think of the whole thing. He couldn't help but wonder what Gaara would have done. Would _he_ have helped Sasori?

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SAKURA LIFTED HER eyes from the carpet to Gaara's face, slightly disturbed by how stony and cold it was. He was still rocking back and forth, his arms tucked tightly around his knees.

He hadn't acknowledged her when she'd pleaded with him to tell her what was wrong. As far as she knew, he'd gone to get Ai back and had returned empty-handed, saying he couldn't find it. There were bloody hand-prints on his wrists though; he didn't mention the marks. She'd asked him but when he didn't respond she hadn't asked again.

They had sat here like this for over twenty minutes; him rocking back and forth and her staring at anything but him, then only him, and then anything but him again. Her heart broke for him, but she didn't know what to do. She hadn't know what to do when he'd told her Shikamaru was dead, either. She'd just done nothing. Sakura was good at doing nothing. Being calm... not having a response. Being here had taught her to shut down outwardly when all she wanted to do was scream.

Sakura supposed that he was doing the same thing. She just didn't know how to rouse him from this near-catatonic state he was in. "Gaara?" she murmured softly, daring to at least _attempt_ the task at hand. "You... Are you... What's wrong?"

He didn't answer. His eyes lost focus on the wall for a moment, but then he shivered and his gaze hardened over again. Gaara didn't stir again when she asked him what had happened.

Sakura, frustrated, brought herself to her feet so she could stand in front of him and block his view. If he wouldn't look at her directly she'd force him to. His gaze didn't flicker away when she positioned herself eye-to-eye with him. "What's wrong?"

Gaara didn't answer. Instead, he closed his eyes. She pressed a hand against his shoulder in frustration, trying to get him to look at her. His eyes flew open when she touched him and he instantly scuttled away from her, pressing himself into the wall.

"Don't_ touch_ me!" he hissed vehemently, looking at her with such loathing that it hurt. Deep in her chest, it felt like something was breaking.

"Gaara! Why won't you_ talk _to me?" she demanded, her voice high and keening .

"Because, you worthless little girl, you can't have me! Don't you _get it_?" he demanded, hatred oozing from words. His vicious glare cut through her like a thousand little knives piercing directly into her heart.

A strangled sound escaped her as she stared at him in disbelief. Precisely two seconds passed before she turned on heel and yanked the door open, tears already streaming down her face.

She found herself face to face with a scene out of a horror movie. Tsunade and a few others were kneeling over a body, working viciously to stem the blood flowing from the wrists of the man on the floor. Sakura had to do a double-check to make sure that it was Sasori and not Gaara on the floor. Kankuro, Kiba, Fae, and Kai stood around him in a semi-circle, some of them with their arms folded anxiously across their bodies, others tapping their feet in an absurd showcase of worry.

Sakura turned slowly to look at Gaara, unsure of how to ask him if this was what had bothered him. Asking him if he did it would likely get her killed. "Sasori..."

Gaara's face darkened immediately. He rushed to the door, shoving her out of the way. She wasn't sure whether the way his lip was trembling was good or bad. When he pressed a nauseated hand to his mouth, only to yank it away in loo of the blood he'd pressed to his lips, she knew it was a bad sign.

He backed away from the door, his hands hovering in the air as he retreated from the scene. "No, no, no, no... What did I do? What did I _do_?"

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

WERE TEARS AN appropriate response? Tsunade couldn't help the tears brewing painfully at the corners of her eyes, begging to be released. She tried to blink them away as she worked to press clean the cuts that had finally stopped bleeding. He was still lying on the floor of his own wing, too fragile to move before they stopped the bleeding. If he got too excited, he'd bleed out before they could save him.

Kankuro had dragged him out of the bathroom for her when they got there; they couldn't do much for him with everyone crowded in the bathroom all at one time. Tsunade had been surprised—she could tell that Sasori hadn't been getting along with his brothers just by how stressed he'd been. She wasn't sure what Kankuro felt towards the red-haired boy on the floor, but she was relieved that he'd put his feelings aside to help her.

She'd gotten to know Sasori so well over the past year that he'd become like a son to her. A wildly demented and out of control son-but a son nonetheless. She knew that she was one of the only people he would listen to—if not_ the only_ person. Tsunade couldn't help but feel personally responsible for the position he was in now.

He'd tried to kill himself and it was her fault. She'd pushed him too far. Tsunade bit back a bitter streak of swears, knowing that verbally expressing her anger would only earn her a more excited Sasori and a bigger problem. She was relieved he was still conscious; that was good. He was definitely much better hydrated than his twin brother. If Gaara we in this position, he would have already died.

Tsunade brushed her hair out of her face with her fingertips, ignoring the fact that she'd just smeared his blood through her hair. "You're gonna be okay, Sasori..."

"I know. I'm in good hands," he whispered. Sasori smiled at her slightly, and she almost smiled back. Her slight relief at his response was cut short when he grunted in pain as one of the people wrapping gauze around his wrists pulled a little too tightly. His free hand—the right, which had far fewer gauges—lifted to cup her face gently. "You're so beautiful... I wish you'd been her. You'd have kept me from being this way..."

Tsunade supposed her meant his mother; she'd been a foul woman. That she'd managed to keep him in her care, despite her obviously unfit position was a mystery to Tsunade. Someone had been covering for this poor boy's mother and father—there was no way on earth that anyone should have ever let them keep him.

"Well, we'll never know now, will we?" she murmured, using her left hand to push his hair out of his face. "Not unless you fight like Hell to stick around so we can see."

Sasori nodded, his dark blue eyes softening at the gesture. There was still a human in there. She knew it because she'd seen it many times before. He didn't think he still had a human left inside him most of the time. Tsunade briefly recalled the time he'd mentioned that his mother told him she had a chip installed inside his head so she could hear his thoughts and that he wasn't really a person, he was created by her so he had to do what she said. He was a part of her, she'd said, not a real person.

Tsunade's lips tightened as she stared at his face, remembering the way he looked when he was breathing. Just in case. She didn't want to think about just in case, but too much had happened to her for her to ignore it completely. She'd thought Shikamaru would be okay, but that hadn't ended well, either...

Tsunade looked away from Sasori for a moment, wondering if she'd see him as well. Everyone else had. When she looked around, finding no one else there but the medical workers, Kankuro, Kiba, Kai, and Fae, she frowned. Why was she being denied the luxury of lunacy?

Sasori bade her goodbye as they carried him away to the infirmary on a stretcher. She was glad they had such good doctors in the infirmary; they were the MacGyvers of the hospital that was for sure. A lot of their departments were old, save for the security and housing. The solitary units were deplorable, but that couldn't be helped.

Tsunade sat on the floor for a moment longer, perplexed. Why were these strange things happenining? Was her plan really backfiring? She'd hoped that forcing crazy people together would be the equivalent of foring normal people together. Such small confines and long hours of beign around each other woudl drive normal people nuts. She'd hoped it would have the opposite effect here, creating situations where the members of the wing were forced to act and react in ways that would help them learn to have relationships-even if they were admittedly not perectly functional and frowned upon by some of the doctors.

Tsunade sighed, glancing around the room when she felt the eyes of teenagers upon her. They were not accusatory as she feared they would be; their eyes were merely curious. At the sound of another door opening, her eyes flickered to one of the doors to her right, expeccting to see Naruto, Gaara, Sasuke, or Sakura-neither of the four had shown their faces during the entire ordeal.

Tsuande was surprised to see a black-haired boy leaning against the doorframe with mild interest. His shoulders sagged, hands thrust deep into the pockets of his faded jeans. This was not Sasuke. It was the very boy she'd so unconvincingly hoped to see. She hadn't truly believed that she would see him; now that she had she wished she hadn't. Almost as though he'd read her mind, the boy wordlessly receeded into his room without a word. The door shut softly and though she was in a room full of people who would coroborate what she'd just seen, she felt more alone than she ever had in her life.

When speaking to Sasori, she'd told him it was a possibility. That didn't mean she had considered it a possibility. She'd merely been trying to sooth the boy; he'd obviously been on edge and very vehement in his beliefs about what he'd seen.

That had been one of her rules: don't start believing the crazy things the crazies tell you. Because that's crazy. If you do, you'll go crazy, too. Her once frequently repeated mantra now mocked her.

_Was_ she going crazy? Or was this _real_?

Tsunade hurriedly pushed herself off of the floor, snatching up all of the materials that she knew the patients were not aloud to have. The rest she left in a blood heap, unable to stand the thought of subjecting herself to more time in their wing.

With a quick glance to the door where she'd seen the raven-haired boy, she departed, leaving them with nothing but a bloody reminder of the events that had transpired. Tsunade could still feel the dark eyes upon her skin as she frantically scurried from the room. She practically slammed the door behind her. In that moment, Tsuande felt like a shitty excuse of a doctor. However that didn't change her course of action and force her to stay and talk them through things so that they could feel more at ease. She couldn't rightly heal the minds of people who threatened to infect her with their cancer.

**Author's Note:**

**Wolf Goddess of Siberia: COME BACK INTO MY LIFE.**

** Just in case you guys need a mental picture, I am going to ATTEMPT to draw up how I envision it.**

**Because it keeps removing just underline spaces or regular spaces, I had to use the sequence of _o_o_ to show space OUTSIDE the room so I can show how it is shaped, and I had to use a sequence of ,.,.,.,. to show area within the living room. :] I hope this makes sense if you look at it long enough. xD **

**Hallway -VV**

__o_o_o_o_**[ ]**

__o_o_o_o_**[ ]** -.-.-VV-Gaara, Kankuro, and Sasori's room.

__o_o_o_o_**[ ]_._|-.-.-|_._._._._._.__**_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_

__o_o_o__ **l**,.,.,.,.,.,** Living Room**,.,.,.,.,**|-| Naruto and**__o_o_o__

__o_o_o__ **l**,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,..** Couch**,.,.,.,., **|-|Sasuke's Room**_o_o

__o__**Kai's |-|**,.,..,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,., **l **_ _o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o__

__o__**Room|-|**,.,.,.,.,.,.,**Television,**.,.,.,. **l**__o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o__

__o_o_o_o_o_o_ _**l**,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,. **|-| Kiba and **_o_o_o_o_

__o_o_o_o_o_o_**___|**,.,.,.,**.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.|-| Shikamaru's Room **

__o_o_o_o_o_o_**___|.-.-.|**_ _o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o__

** Fae and Sakura's room. **

**Did I seriously just spend like twenty minutes AT LEAST doing that so you could guys see what it looks like in my head? YES. Why? I have no life right now and I am hopelessly devoted to this when I am not either at school or reading Bleeding Autumn's stories. xD 3 Lmao. **

**I hope you guys like this chapter, despite the strange things that happen. **

**What do you think? Lemme know. Reviews fuel my inspiration. If you have critics, though, don't be shy. I don't bite unless you do! [Hehehe.] **


	32. Shorts

"THIS IS ALL my fault..." mumbled Kai. She was still standing in the living room, staring at the splotches of blood that remained from Sasori's meltdown.  
"What?"

Kankuro looked up at her in surprise. He'd been assuming what Sasori had done was somehow connected to whatever had happened between Kai and Sasori, but he hadn't been sure.

Kai's gaze flickered up from the floor, to Kankuro, and then back to the floor. "Nothing."

Kankuro watched as she quickly marched the few feet back to her room before he could force his body into motion. Hope was paralyzing... Kiba's questioning gaze was heavy on his back as he practically stomped after Kai. Why was he so mad? He couldn't place the reasons for his anger.

Kai was in the middle of rummaging through her drawers, for what he wasn't sure, but it was obviously something she didn't want him to see because she slammed the dresser drawer shut with such force that it rocked precariously, sending a few things onto the floor. As Kai squatted to pick them up Kankuro moved closer. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," she snapped, trying to maintain a calm demeanor. "Not that it's any of your business."

"He's my brother; it is my business," countered Kankuro, leaning on the dresser in a way he knew would intimidate her. She had her back to the wall now; she casually leaned against it in an effort to look like she didn't care.

"Yeah, the brother you didn't want a thing to do with until _two nights a_-"

"What the_ fuck_ would you know about that?" he snarled, his cheeks turning red. She saw it as an angry flush, but he knew that it was embarrassment.

"I.. Well, I heard you talking to Naruto..." she admitted, pressing herself into the wall. She glanced to her left, to the open side of the room and the door. Could she just duck around him and avoid this conversation completely? She didn't like the way he was when he was mad.

"What exactly did you hear?" he prodded, putting his right hand on the wall above her shoulder, preventing her escape. He'd seen her looking.

"Nothing." That was a lie and they both knew it. She couldn't even think of a decent cover. Why was she so scared? She knew he wouldn't reject her; he still missed her. She just wasn't sure if she missed him as much as he did her.

"Don't_ lie_ to me if you're not going to do a good _job_," he scoffed, following her. When she opened the door, he angrily pushed it shut with his left hand. "Stop it! Just fucking tell me."

Kai glared at him angrily. Her anger won out and in retort she threw his request back in his face. "Fine! I heard you sitting there talking to Naruto about how much you missed me and how you don't trust Sasori and you think he's trying to take everybody away from you. There. Are you happy now?"

Kankuro's face fell, but that was the only response she got. He turned away from her for a second, then muttered, "I'm never happy. You know that."  
"That's not my fault."

"It's not mine, either!" he snapped, turning back around to glare at her. If looks could kill, she'd be mutilated and hanging from a tree.

Kai glared right back before sighing in defeat and looking away. "Look, what do you want? If you're here to just crush my ego and make me feel like shit then get out. I can do that myself."

"I want to know why he did that to himself..." admitted Kankuro, letting go of his anger for a moment. "He was... he didn't make sense. He kept talking about how much work he has to do."

"He talks about it in his sleep... something Tsunade wants him to do; I don't know what it is..." Kai fell quiet for a moment. "I don't know if I did the wrong thing or not..."

Kankuro waited for her to explain, but she didn't. When he sighed impatiently and asked her what it was she was still hesitant to talk. "I dunno, I just told him I wanted to talk to you. That was all. He'd heard as well. He thought I was done with him and stomped out... I thought he didn't even care... Is it wrong? He thinks I'm crazy for..."

Kankuro grunted in response, knowing that her sentence would have ended with 'wanting to talk to the guy who cheated on me.' "If you're looking for a lesson in morals you obviously picked the wrong person to ask," he muttered, sinking down onto the bed next to her. "I don't know if I ever apologized for that..."

"You _didn't_."

"Oh..." Kankuro cleared his throat awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck. "I'm... sorry." His lips twitched in agitation; it was not a phrase that usually passed his lips. "For... what I did and for how I treated you. Mostly for taking so long to actually say that."

"Thanks," she whispered. She meant it, too. "I just... why? _What_ did I do wrong?"

"Nothing. I just mostly had sex with her. I confused the strings-free ease of it with more feelings than there were... She didn't. Before I met you I got laid a lot. So... I just... I dunno, really."

Kai frowned, realizing what that meant. He had sex a lot. She never had. Why on earth did he even want anything to do with her? "If you expect me to put out _just_ because—"

"Fuck, Kai, that's_ not_ what I meant!" he snapped, rubbing his temples in frustration. "Why do you do that? God, just stop. I know you won't. I'm not asking you to—not that I don't want you to, because it'd be fucking sweet—but chill out. I didn't come here to try and persuade you to have sex with me."

"Then why are you here?" she demanded, turning sideways so she could see his face.

He sighed, rubbing the flat of his left thumb over the edge of the other thumbnail. This was getting more and more awkward. "Because I want things to go back to the way they were."

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

GAARA STARED AT the blood stains on his wrists, knowing that the blood was real and that it was there because of him. He had done this.

Sasori had needed his help, begged for it even, and he had denied him. All of this because he was so lost within his own mind that he couldn't tell reality from his own fucked up mind... He considered pulling out the strange device and speaking into it as he had that time in the bathroom. He didn't know how it had worked, but it had worked. Miraculously people had appeared.

Part of him was scared it was magic. The other part knew it was an electronic device that could send his voice to whomever had the receiving partner to the device, but he couldn't be too sure of anything anymore.

Sakura sat next to him, staring at him intently. He hated it. He wanted to tell her he was fine and to tell her that he didn't want her to stare at him like that, but he couldn't.

Gaara was stuck inside of himself and he couldn't come out.

He couldn't remember the last time this had happened to him; the first time that came to mind was the last time he'd seen his father but he didn't want to think about that for too long. It made him feel skeevy and sick.

Over and over again, the image of Sasori grabbing hold of his wrists and pleading with Gaara to help him assaulted his senses. Why hadn't he helped him? Even if it had been a delusion why hadn't he helped him?

Gaara supposed seeing Sasori like that had scared him. He'd also been extremely mad with the boy; to say that Gaara did not know his real father had thrown him so completely off guard that he had been sure he would vomit. If his father was not his father... his life was a lie. His life was a cruel, bitter lie that shouldn't have existed.

That was the hardest part; he didn't know what to make of it or if Sasori had even been telling the truth. It made it a little easier to think that no father would ever do the things to their child that his father had, but that didn't make them any easier to live with; it didn't make whoever his 'father' had been a better person.

When Sakura scooted closer to him so that she could wrap her arms around him and rest her head against his shoulder, Gaara began to cry. He didn't know why or what had been directly responsible for those tears, but they came nonetheless. She didn't say a thing about them, only wiped them away with her finger tips and smoothed his hair out of his hot face. It was the closest thing to "comforted" he'd ever been.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

THE DARK SHADOWY fold created by the titanic branches of the enormous trees created a shield against any and all light hoping to enter the Forbidden Forest. The forest was condensed in moss and the smell of the stale, dank air was heavy in his nostrils. Beneath his pawed feet, the mulch was soft and wet. He moved on to legs in his pursuit, a growl occasionally emanating from his fleshy canine lips as he closed in. His silvery blue fur, so short you could barely tell it was there, hid him in shadow.

He pulled his head back to howl eerily up to the heavens as he took his prey in with a greedy glare. A girl, her fluffy brown hair contained by the brim of a hat—the Sorting Hat—shivered in spite of the Hufflepuff scarf wrapped generously around her neck as she backed against a tree, her mystical blue-lilac eyes glimmering in fear. He could see his reflections in her eye as he close in, one lumbering step at a time, each breath coming out in a panting, low growl.

Kiba could see he swallow as she stared him down, too frightened to even blink as both of them waited for what happened next. Before he could move, she turned and bolted her black robe and feathery brown locks trailing behind her as she ran.

Unable to resist the moving target, he leapt into pursit again, rolling onto all fours to run this time. Then he saw her trip, twisting onto her back as she fell. A winded moan escaped her as he pounced, claiming his right to kill. In retaliation, she drew her wand and shouted something. A pulse of white and blue light emanated from the tip of the stringy fir dragon core wand. It rippled through him, halting his attack; instead of attacking her fell on her.

It was then that he gathered his senses. Fighting through the dizzying spell, Kiba realized his position and, furthermore, he recognized the girl sprawled out on the mulch beneath him; he was too scared to even think of whispering her name. He found himself sliding the Sorting Hat from her head before he could stop himself. The simple action revealed her dainty, moon-skinned face, untainted by the shadow of the sorting hat. Kiba found himself slightly lost in Fae's misty eyes and rose-petal lips. Her innocent facial expression and the set of her full lips reminded him of a librarian as she stared up at him through her ashy eyelashes. She seemed so worn and submissive...

On his hands and knees, he towered over her. His eyes traveled from her face to her thin, smooth neck and to her shoulders. He could see that her position had jarred her robe out of place; the gentle, rounded rise of the visible portion of her breasts caused his breath to catch in his throat. She said nothing, her hands cast at either side of her head in a very attractive though un-planned pose. He didn't recall moving, but he could see that his hand was now caressing the velvety column of her throat. His hand was traveling down, sliding underneath the fabric of her robe. In turn, Kiba watched her expression as she tilted her head, rolling it slightly to side as she moaned invitingly.

Kiba lowered his face to her neck to breath in her rich scent. He absently remembered that she'd recently taken to adorning herself with a signature scent for every day of the week. What scent had she chosen this day? He inhaled deeply, relishing the scent of potpourri. Gently, he pressed his lips against her soft skin, opening his mouth to nip at her skin.

A sudden jolt caused everything to tumble hopelessly into non-existence as he opened his eyes. He was greeted with a drool-stained pillow and a leg hanging off the side of the bed.

"Gaaaah..." Kiba growled and grabbed another pillow to pull over his head as he lazily attempted to smother himself.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SASORI WAS JOLTED out of his sleep by the sound of metal clattering to the floor. It hurt to jerk his arms up to protect his face; it took him half a second to remember why. His eyes scanned for the source of the sound and he was surprised to see Shikamaru sitting at the foot of his bed. Apparently he had been for a while; his feet were propped up on the foot of the bed and his chair was tilted back off the floor a few inches. He was even more surprised to see Tsunade, standing in the door way with her hands still hovering in mid-air as though she were still holding the tray of lunch that had slipped through her fingers.

"S-Sasori? Do you see him?" she whispered, her eyes trained directly on Shikamaru.

"I've already told you I can see him," pointed out Sasori in a slow, drawling tone. "Startling isn't it?"

She nodded, squatting wearily to pick up the utensils and food she had dropped. She kept her gaze trained on Shikamaru for as long as she could.

"Would you like a _picture_? It'd last longer," inquired Shikamaru, cracking one eye open. Tsunade gasped and tottered back on her heels. Shikamaru snickered when she landed on the seat of her pants, her legs splayed out in a 'v' shape.

"A-Ah-uhm... Shikamaru, why haven't you shown yourself to me til' now?" She demanded, unsure of how to talk to him. It. Her hallucination. Or was it a ghost? Was it real?

Shikamaru scoffed in amusement, ducking his head as he smiled. "You weren't ready."

"How is she anymore ready now than before? She's_ stressed_ out of her_ mind_—" began Sasori, ready to defend the one person who had ever defended him.

"Exactly. What normal person would see a person they know is dead and want to talk to him? I had to make sure she was ready, otherwise she'd just get herself checked in here and she wouldn't be of any use to me." Shikamaru glared at Sasori, daring the red-haired boy to refute him again. Sasori was too tired to be bothered with that. He absently scratched at the gauze covering his forearms. They were much too itchy for his liking. "Tsunade, I'm sorry I had to show up at a time like this, but any other time you wouldn't have been... too closed off for me to present myself to you in a way that you could accept. People who have just experienced trauma are generally more open to the other side."

"Wait—_you_ did this to him?" demanded Tsunade, drawing herself up to her full height. If Shikamaru had done this to Sasori...

"No!" Shikamaru pressed his hands to his face in utter frustration. "You are a troublesome, stupid woman for someone whose IQ almost matches my own, you know." Tsunade said nothing, waiting for him to continue as she knew he would. "I merely waited for the opportunity to present itself. This was all him. I would advise that you speak to Gara; he's having a meltdown right now. He thinks that this is his fault."

Tsunade sighed in defeat, sinking into the chair on the other side of Sasori's bed. "What else can go wrong in this god-forsaken shit hole?"

"... I may or may not have told him that he doesn't know his father..." Sasori admitted nervously. That had been a stupid thing to do, but he had been too mad to contain himself when he was angry with Gaara.

"You what?" Tsunade bit back a sob of frustration. "No! Sasori, that was so stupid. Now it's ruined..."

Shikamaru pulled his feet off the bed, causing his chair to tilt back to the floor with a loud screech. "What's ruined?"

Tsunade and Sasori exchanged guilty glances. Shit. They were caught.

[.-_-.]

**Author's Note: I'm sorry about this chapter. A lot of it is just poorly written. But I need to get it out so I can move on. So sorry. Please review and let me know what you think.**


	33. Who's Your Daddy?

GAARA'S COLD GLARE said it all. He wasn't opening up to her any time soon; he felt betrayed. Tsunade regretted that she hadn't told him why he'd been called to her office but it was important that she talk to him. When he stared at her in bitter concentration, she averted her eyes, unable to hold his gaze. Tonight was not a night that she would be able to withstand his seemingly endless willpower.

He was certain that he'd been called in so that she might chastise him for not helping Sasori; had Sasori told her what he'd done? How he'd left him there? Part of Gaara was still viciously angry about the snide remark Sasori had made in reference to Gaara's father. _"Yeah? Well at least I know my father!"_

A different part of Gaara was terrified that _he'd _done all of that damage to Sasori. He didn't know what was right and real anymore; the only thing he could do to keep from completely losing his sanity was to not react to questionable stimulus anymore. There was a distant niggling deep in the pit of his stomach that told him he wasn't about to enjoy the moments to come. He was becoming more and more scared that the visions he was having were not actually visions and that what he was seeing was real. It was illogical, but being trapped in an insane asylum didn't general breed a logical thought pattern.

The terrifying visions he'd been having lately were increasing in number and he couldn't take much more of them; he'd gotten so used to feeling and dead inside that he'd begun to at least attempt ignoring them, but that didn't work so well. Eventually the overwhelming feels of depression and depravity overwhelmed him and he was forced to acknowledge the taunting torment that only he could hear.

**"**Are you going to say something, or are you going to sit there staring at your shoes for the rest of the day? Because I have things to do," he said in a low tone. His voice was gravelly with disuse.

Tsunade looked up, slightly embarrassed by her lack of professionalism. "Sorry, Gaara, I just got lost in my thoughts for a moment. I need to talk to you about Sasori..."

"What's there to talk about?" he snapped, leaning back in his chair as he folded his arms across his wiry chest. Tsunade's brows drew together in agitation as he casually propped his feet up on her desk. He only acted at ease when he was quite the opposite. He cast her an accusatory glare as she parted her lips to speak.

**"**His arms... the marks on his arm were..."

Gaara growled in agitation and yanked his feet off the desk just as quickly as he'd put them on her desk. His chair, which had been leaned back onto two nubby legs, thunked back to the ground. Tsunade repressed a flinch of fear when he angrily grabbed the nearest framed photograph within reach and chucked it at the wall. The wood splintered, separated. The glass cracked in half but did not shatter.

"What the fuck does this have to do with anything? We've had roommates kill themselves, or at least _try_, before." Gaara's sardonic tone frightened her even further, but she didn't show it.

Gaara had caught himself just in time on that one. He didn't know how to explain why he thought Shikamaru was dead, but he wasn't about to talk about it—_least _of all with _her._

**"**That may be true, but Sasori... Well he and I have a lot to talk to you about," pressed Tsunade, leaning forward to show him just how unafraid of him she was. Apparently that was the wrong thing to do in this situation.

**"**Well I don't particularly want to hear it," snarled Gaara, pushing himself out of his chair and spinning around in one, fluid motion. Before she could protest, his hand was curling around the doorknob and he was relieving himself of her company.

The door squealed in protest as he practically yanked it open. The visage of a tall figure before him halted him in his tracks, though not for long. When Gaara realized that Sasori was the human-blockade, he angrily tried to brush past him. Sasori, despite his weakened state, was just as strong as Gaara. He had more brute strength than Gaara, even though Gaara was much better at picking out weaknesses.

**"**Don't leave now. It's just about to get good," purred Sasori, leaning into Gaara as he pressed his hands against the thinner man's shoulders. "Besides, I don't feel like letting you bail on me again." **  
**Gaara's eyes widened fractionally; his brother's statement caught him so off-guard that he didn't protest as Sasori roughly shoved him back into he chair he'd just abandoned. "I didn't abandon you..."

Sasori chuckled humorlessly, derision coating his snide reply, "So leaving me to bleed to death on the floor was your attempt at a peace-offering?"

Gaara's eyes narrowed in hurt, though he disguised it perfectly in a mask of hatred. His chest began to rise and fall in a faster series of breaths; he hadn't left him to die, he'd just been too caught up in his own mind to realize what was real and what was fake. "I did _not _leave you to die."

Tsunade's eyes widened in surprise as she watched the vicious exchange between the two red-heads. Sasori had not even mentioned this to her; why was it coming up now? This was the worst possible timing. She knew she ought to stop them, because it was counter-productive for them to argue when she needed to talk to them in a calm manner, but she knew that she couldn't over-power them. Besides, if she called orderlies in to restrain them, she couldn't properly have this conversation, as what she was _about _to tell them was highly illegal.

**"**Then what was it? Huh? I _needed _you to help me! Kankuro had to help me-he can't even _stand _me! I wasn't trying to kill myself! I just... I was just upset and it wasn't working anymore like it used to and I was trying to make it work..." Sasori looked down at his arms in shame. His anger won out and his pale cheeks flushed with anger. "What did I ever do that was so wrong that my own brothers won't even talk to me when I need them to? All I ever wanted was to _know _you!"

Gaara's eyes widened and he visibly recoiled at his brother's words. He'd wanted to know him? What for? He was Gaara Sabaku... no one wanted to be _around _him growing up, let alone friends with him. Sasori looked away from him, embarrassed by his emotional outburst. He hadn't intended to go that far.

**"**Why did you want to know me?" asked Gaara, his mouth having trouble articulating the words. He felt like he was being strangled as his lips and tongues struggled to coax the simple syllables.

Tsunade had never heard Gaara's voice sound so soft, so tender, so... broken. She raised her gaze to the ceiling in an attempt to stem the flow of emotional downpour. This was the most emotional open she'd ever seen him and it killed her to see him so utterly ruined and broken inside.

**"**You were all I ever heard about when I was growing up..." muttered Sasori, scratching his neck sheepishly. "My mom was obsessed with finding you..."

"What?" Gaara's tugged on his ear in frustration; there was a loud ringing sound that he couldn't shake. "My dad told me she was dead..."

Sasori shifted uncomfortably, which caused Gaara to leer at him suspiciously. "About that... my dad is _your _dad."

"We're twins. Of course he's your dad-" Gaara faltered as he realized something. Sasori's dad. Not your dad is my dad. Sasori had said my dad is your dad. Gaara's breath caught in his chest as Sasori's taunt from their previous altercation returned to his mind again. _"Yeah? Well at least I know my father!"_ "My dad is your dad, _right_?"

Once again Sasori looked away, unable to look his brother in the eyes. The animosity in Gaara's voice was just a cover for how utterly helpless he felt; Sasori knew it. He couldn't repress the tears of guilt that welled up in the corners of his eyes. He felt like a childish little girl for getting so emotional but he couldn't help himself. "No, Gaara. That wasn't your dad..."

Tsunade could only watch as Gaara's world silently crashed down around him. She had no idea the chaos that was erupting inside his mind; she hardly ever did and now was no exception. However, now she was so greatly intrigued and terrified for his well-being that she _needed _to know what was going on in there.

Her own wants would need to wait, though; Gaara had receded so far into himself that he couldn't be reached. She had known that Gaara's father was not his birth father; she hadn't thought he would care, to be honest. He had never spoken of the man. He never talked about any of his family, except for Temari or Kankuro. She hadn't expected him to go into such a state of shock. The dull look on his face denied the look of utter panic and despair that radiated from his eyes.

The man before her was not one she'd ever seen before. His legs were pulled up onto the chair in front of him, crossed at the ankle. His arms protected them and held them securely to his torso as he rocked back and forth, his lips moving to take the shapes of words that neither she nor Sasori could hear. Now Tsunade couldn't stem the tears that burgeoned in the corners of her eyes.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"SO WHAT WERE Kankuro and Kai fighting about?" inquired Fae, flopping down on the couch next to Kiba. He looked up from his book, shrugging slightly.

"Something they ought to have fought about a long time ago," he said, pulling his bare feet up onto the couch. He tucked them beneath himself before he went back to reading again.

Fae, ever curious,scooted closer to him so she could peer over his shoulder and see where he was at in the book. "Ah, I remember reading that part. You'd never have thought _he _was the good guy, huh?" she laughed, remembering just how confused she'd felt when she'd read it. Everything had turned out all right in the end, though. She felt just as confused now; she only hoped things began to come to a head in a way that she'd be able to make heads or tails of them.

**"**Mhm," mumbled Kiba. He was terrified to sound like an idiot; he frequently made a fool of himself in front of her and he was growing tired of it. He felt even more awkward around her now that he'd had a dream of almost kissing her and getting to feel her up.

**"**So, Kiba, what is this argument that they were having that they were supposed to have had a long time ago?" prodded Fae. Kiba shifted uncomfortably before divulging the information.

**"**Kankuro's a bit of a sex-addict, kinda, and he ended up cheating on Kai. Kai broke it off with him and at first he didn't care but then he had a melt-down. I think she's the first real relationship he's ever had. If you noticed how... well, I don't know how to put it but he's obviously not good at _not _being a dick." Kiba grimaced continually as he explained the situation; he didn't have the heart to tell her that it was Sakura that Kankuro had cheated on Kai with. He knew that Sakura had previously had moments of weakness, but it didn't feel right to reveal them at the whim of his own fancy. It didn't feel right to talk ill of the one guy who'd been there to share his pain when they were both freshly alone.

**"**Oh my gosh," breathed Fae, unsure of what to make of it all. "So is he sorry? Does he want her back? Is that why he's such a jackass sometimes?"

Kiba laughed in spite of himself. "Well he's an asshole most of the time, but I think he really loves her... Sasori complicates the whole thing, though, because he and Kai had this weird relationship thing going on. But from the looks of things, Kai broke whatever it was off and he... he's got to be worrying about something other than Kai. She's pretty, but she's a little too... crazy for me. Besides, I can think of someone who's prettier..."

Fae smiled softly, her outward expression denying the inner-rush of hurt she felt at him calling a different girl pretty. What was that for? "You mean Kallou?"

"No... She hasn't contacted me at all since she left. I don't know if she can. I think whatever we had was over. It was beautiful while it lasted, thought... The guys keep trying to get me laid. Not that I don't want it, but... I can't just... _you know. _Not if it doesn't mean anything. " Kiba reddened in embarrassment and scratched the back of his neck. "I guess I'm a sappy idiot."

Fae laughed and shook her head 'no', saying that it was refreshing to meet a guy who didn't want to hump anything that moved or had the slightest promise of a vagina. Kiba sighed in discontent, knowing he'd once been that guy. "You're very easy to talk to, ya know that _Rafaela?" _He snickered when she instantly bristled and punched him in the arm. "Ow! I'm sorry, geez."

"Don't call me that! And..." Her voice softened and she held her hands in her lap, almost guiltily. "I'm sorry about you and Kallou. But, just because she's gone doesn't mean you have to be alone..."

"Who is there for me?" snapped Kiba, closing his book in irritation. He couldn't focus on it anymore. "What the hell am I _supposed _to do? Try and hit on the girl that I managed to piss on the first day I met her? Take a crack at TenTen and just hope and pray she doesn't cut my dick off and make a knick-knack out of it? I have _nobody, _Fae."

"You have me, you idiot!" Fae snapped, glaring at him in the way only a snubbed girl can. "I told you I forgave you for that. I think you're cute, all right? I wish you'd just pull your head out of your ass and give yourself, _let alone _me a chance!"

Kiba's mouth fell agape as he stared at her. The look of self-pity crumbled and gave way to a wry smile. "You think I'm cute?"

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"THINGS ARE NEVER going to be like they were before..." mumbled Kai, wiping furiously at her eyes. "That is gone. We can't just start over."

Kankuro's gaze left her face and he glared dejectedly at the floor, trying to will away the tears of frustratio and rejection. He utterly loathed crying and here he was crying over her again. He hadn't cried in God know's how long, save for when he'd cried over her. Here he was getting ready to cry again. Crying was not acceptable.

Kai was disturbed by his unusual silence; usually when he was at odds with someone he'd argue his point until he got tired of speaking and changed to more physical tactics. Now he was just quiet. That scared her. She hadn't meant to sound so final and resolute in a way that denied him; she'd meant to tell him that things would be different. That they wouldn't be able to start over but they could start somewhere.

When she saw that he was on the verge of tears, she bit back the taste of bile. It was a truly gut-wrenching thing to see someone she was so used to being emotionally bullet-proof, almost annoyingly so, in such a wretched and pitiful state. Kai crawled over to him, trying not to let his emotions make her teary-eyed as well. "Hey," she whispered, pressing a gentle hand on his shoulder, "don't-"

She was cut off when he visibly jolted, jerking away from her as he furiously wiped at his eyes. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"

"What? No! It's fine! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Yet again she was cut off as her door swung wide and Sasori marched in, grabbed Kankuro by the arm. "Sorry, Kai. Kankuro, your assistance is required."

"Get the fuck off of me!" snarled Kankuro, remembering why he was loathe to be around his brother. He was the one who'd gotten in the way of Kai. Why the couldn't start over again...

Sasori saw the fury in Kankuro's eyes and groaned and mentally berating himself for being so horribly inefficient. "Goddamit, Kankuro, pull your head out of your ass for one fucking minute and think of Gaara. He needs you."

"I _always _think of Gaara! I'm the only one who _ever _has. Who do you think protects him? I'm the _only _one who _ever _has, and you waltz in here and try to take him away from me!" Kankuro grabbed Sasori by the neck of the shirt and slammed him into the wall, just to the left of the door. "You won't take him from me! He's _all I've got._"

"Then _help_me," gurgled Sasori, unable to breath under the force of Kankuro's death grip, which had shifted from his shirt to his neck. "He needs you. Tsunade and I... I told him that his dad isn't really his dad and he freaked!"

Kankuro immediately released Sasori, straightening up to his full height. "What do you mean he's not our father?"

Kai and Sasori both could hear the suspicion in his voice; they didn't like it. "My father is your father. The man you've known is not your dad."

Kankuro's eyes narrowed and he angrily slammed his fist into the wall next to Sasori's head, the pain not registering on his face as his right fist broke into the wall, slicing his knuckles open. "You're _lying._"

Sasori calmly shook his head 'no,' his eyes widening fractionally as Kankuro's face darkened and he let out a hoarse scream. The dark-haired man pulled away, covering his ears by pressing his hands into the side of his head. "You're lying! It can't... It's not... No! It can't not be him! Or it will all have been..."

Sasori watched, helplessly, as Kankuro sank to his knees in despair. The brother that he had thought, of all three of them, was the strongest, was turning out to be the most emotionally tormented. "Kankuro, please... Gaara's... I don't know how to help him. He's just sitting there, rocking back and forth..."

Kankuro looked up at him, his hands still crushed to his ears. He could still hear Sasori, even if he didn't want to. It took him a minute, but when he finally pulled himself back to his feet, gone was the man who had just so recently been on the brink of tears and a mental break-down. Kankuro was strong again, but only because he had to be. Inside he was crumbling. Outside he was the picture of a man on a mission.

He left the room, silently and without a word, leaving behind Kai and Sasori to stare after him in wonder.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

NARUTO SIGHED WEARILY, trying not to let the worried look in Sasuke's eye get to him. "I'm worried 'bout 'em, Sasuke... I just... Why haven't we _done _anything? There's so many more out there and we're sitting here like lame ducks playing house..."

"Naruto, we can't just go around killing people right now. We have two new roommates. It's too big of a risk," explained Sasuke, brushing Naruto's hair out of his face. [**I would like to point out that I am a humongous hypocrite. I HATE NaruSasu. Why it is in my story I have no clue; I like it when I get to write it but never any other time. Probably because I keep fluffy and fun and not heated...] **

"Sasuke, you know just as much as I do that Sasori would literally get a _kick _out of this just like we do," snapped Naruto, rolling out of bed. "We should be doing more..."

Sasuke growled impatiently and yanked Naruto back down onto the bunk. "Not with Fae around. Shes a liability. She could be... more normal than us."

Naruto scowled at Sasuke's revelation and folded his arms across his chest with an angry huff. "Bullshit."

At least he hoped it was. He wanted to help, yes, but killing was the greatest source of entertainment around here. It made him feel skeevy to think of it that way, but it was true. There wasn't much else to do.

He was beginning to think that Gaara and Kankuro were having a worse time than he was; they'd both been having the worse kinds of fits lately and he only prayed that they could figure Fae out soon enough to permit them to kill again sometime soon.

**Author's Note; It's been a LONG while, yes; for that I am sorry. I had run out of inspiration for a while. I am getting reacquainted with the series though—I'm watching the episodes in Japanese because I think those are better. Sadly, I'm a lazy ass and have only gotten to the end of the Zabuza arc. **

**To all of my fellow nerds out there, I have manged to achieve Straight A's so far. My nerd status is elevated this year. I got above a one hundred in Anatomy and Chemistry. I think I'll join the "virgins forever" club now. WHOOOOO. I'll just say it's by choice. Lmao. **

**Anyway, read and review, please, I could really use some guidance. **

**This doesn't seem too contrived, does it? **


	34. Vicious

HE HAD COME to accept that when he needed it, no one would be there to help him. He was the one who helped, not the one who was helped.

Kankuro eyed his brother, wondering what it was like to be the brother without responsibilities, the brother who didn't have to worry about the other. Times like this made him viciously angry that he'd been born first. He was given all the responsibility of fixing situations that he himself was the last hear about.

"Gaara?" he whispered tentatively, reaching out with his left hand to gently prod his brother's shoulder. Gaara ignored him completely, rocking back and forth endlessly. Kankuro sighed in frustration; he was just as frustrated and in just as much pain as him right now. In fact, his pain was worse. Why was he forced to do this? "Listen, you little shit, this isn't fair. You need to crawl back out of your fucking pity hole and join the real world. This isn't fucking _fair_. I protected you then. I shouldn't _have_ to protect you now!"

Gaara stopped rocking back and forth to such a degree; he trembled back and forth at the shoulders but the degree of his rocking was decreased. His lips still twisted feverishly around words that neither Sasori nor Tsunade could hear.

Kankuro knew exactly what he was saying. "Deliver us from evil, lead us not to temptation, yada-yada. Gaara, we weren't lead to temptation. We _were _the temptation; snap out of it. Come on. I just want to go back and be by myself."

Gaara's motions stilled, and he angrily bit his lip. "This isn't fair. We could have been normal. We could have... Why couldn't we?"

"What do you want me to tell you? That God had other plans? If he did, I'd sure to like know what purpose putting me through all of that served."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, you two, but what are you talking about?" inquired Sasori, his face pale with worry. "I should have told you sooner, but... I just didn't think about it. I was just trying to fit in and know you... I didn't think it was important. I always envied you; I imagined you guys together and happy all the time and I thought..."

"We were anything but happy," snarled Gaara. "_Father _made sure of that."

Tsunade blanched realizing what he'd said. "What did your father do, Gaara?"

Gaara's eyes widened in fear and the narrowed when he realized what he'd said; what he had done. "Nothing."

Kankuro groaned and pressed his forearms to his head, locking his hands behind his head. "Stop it! Why do you want to know so badly?"

"Because it obviously still bothers you! I just want to help you! Whatever it is, it's eating you up inside and I can see it!" retorted Tsunade, unable to keep the sound of tears out of her voice.

Kankuro bit his lip and rolled his eyes to the ceiling, avoiding her grief stricken gaze. He couldn't deal with this. "Then let it eat at me a little longer. I'll be fine. I always am. I have to be. For now, though, let me just _not_ deal with everyone else's problems. I have my own, you know, I can't always be looking out for him!"

Kankuro angrily rose to his feet; there was such force behind his motion that his chair toppled over backwards. Tsunade didn't stop him as he stalked from the room. Instead her gaze fell to Gaara. Tears were welling up in his eyes. Before she could console him in the slightest, he caught her pitying gaze and quickly fled the scene.

This news was supposed to unit them... all she had succeeded in doing was to tear them even further apart.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SHIKAMARU AWKWARDLY PATTED him on the shoulder, unsure of how to make him feel better. Sasori ignored the dark-haired young man that shadowed him as he walked back to his wing.

"Come on, man, you can't ignore me forever. I know how this feels, but it'll get better. Things will turn out... less troublesome than they are now." He was trying to make him feel better. Sasori was the only one who gave him the time of day lately, even though he himself hardly ever gave anyone else a chance to talk to him.

"Shut up," snapped Sasori, repressing a yawn. He was so tired... All he wanted was to sleep for the next fourty-eight hours.

"Look, ignoring it won't make it go away. It's more work, but in the end... that work will pay off!"

Sasori leaned against the wall, wishing he'd done more to sooth Tsunade. She needed it. He growled deep in his throat, unable to ignore the nagging feeling of guilt. It was so foreign and unusual that it was simply overwhelming. He hadn't felt guilty like this in a long time. "I hate you, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru laughed slowly, and braced his hands behind his head as he leaned against the wall next to Sasori. When Sasori pushed away from the wall, Shikamaru didn't budge. "Tell her that I said I'll watch them and come see her tonight and let her know how things are doing."

Sasori flipped Shikamaru the bird as he skulked back down the corridor to comfort Tsunade. He wasn't sure how to be proficient in consoling, but he was willing to try in the name of the one woman who had thus far done him no wrong.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"LOOK, I KNOW you're still mad at me, but can I come in?" pleaded Kankuro, leaning his head against the cool wood of the door. He'd knocked more than four times but she hadn't answered.

"Oh! It's you; why didn't you say so?" she demanded, yanking the door open. Kai was surprised to see the tears in his eyes, but didn't object as he swiftly entered the room and slammed the door behind him before leaning his back against the door. He looks so... pitiful. "God, Kankuro, are you all right?"

When he slowly shook his head 'no,' she felt something inside of her crumble.

"I don't know to help you..." she whispered, unsure of what to do. The last time she'd put a hand on him he'd practically fled her touch. Now what was she supposed to do?

Wordlessly he moved to her and pressed his lips against hers in a chaste, though admittedly unwarranted kiss. When he wrapped his arms around her in a bone-crushing embrace, she silently endured it as long as she could.

"Kankuro, I can't really breathe." She hated to sound as though she didn't care, but she knew that letting him inadvertently strangle her would not solve anything. When he finally released her from his grip, she didn't move away from him. "How can... what can I do to make you feel better?"

"Stay with me..." he mumbled, refusing to look her in the eye. "I just... for once, I want someone to _not _need me when we both feel like shit."

Kai smiled, pleased to be able to help him. "Wanna cuddle, then?"

Kankuro nodded, a bittersweet smile tugging at his lips. It fell from his lips before he could act upon it, though. Without a further word, he crawled onto the bed after her, resting his head on the flat of her stomach. She hadn't expected that, but she didn't act surprised. She toyed with his hair until his ragged breathing slowed. Hopefully he'd feel better in a little bit. Kai knew better than to press him until he started to talk about it himself.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

TO SAY THAT she was surprised would be a lie. She'd been expected Gaara to rush through her door, fuck her silly, and then lay with her in abject misery for a few days now. She was dying to know what had caused his break in demeanor.

He snuggled into her neck, scraping his teeth against the junction of her shoulders and the column of her throat, effectively silencing her for a moment as a warm hum of pleasure tingled throughout her, calming her. When she found her voice again, he grumbled in complaint.

"Gaara, what happened? I don't mind letting you give me endless orgasms but there has to be something in this for you... Are you all right?" she lazily threaded a few fingers through his hair, rubbing his scalp in circular motions.

"I found out my father isn't my father."

"Why did you freak out? I thought you hated him..." Sakura pulled her head back, pressing it into the pillow to try and get a better look at his face.

"I did. But it means that everything he did to Kankuro and I... it could have been avoided. Everything he did was done by a stranger, not the man we thought we knew. It's more disgusting that it bothers me that I didn't even know who he really was, but... I don't know..."

"Disgusting? What the fuck, Gaara. What are you talking about?" Sakura propped herself up on her elbows ignoring his ploy to change the subject when he toyed with her nipples. "Cut it out. What did he do?"  
"I don't wanna talk about it," he mumbled burying his face in her neck. "Please, just stop. You're making me feel worse."

Sakura guiltily sank back to the mattress. She could feel his hot tears dripping onto her neck. Shakily she guided a hand to his head, toying with his hair just how he liked it. "I'm so sorry, Gaara. You don't deserve that."

Any of it.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"Can you believe it?" panted Kiba, dodging Naruto's wild punch. "Watch it, man! I want to take her on a lunch date or something; if you fuck up my face she'll never say yes!"

"Oi! Kiba, let him do his work! You're here to work out and strengthen your youthful bodies, not talk about strengthening your relationships outside of the gym!" growled a man with dark-black hair which had been cut in a classic bowl-cut style.

"Sorry Gai! See what you caused Kiba? Now I really gotta kick your ass," chuckled Naruto, digging his fist deep into Kiba's stomach. Kiba growled ferally and pounced on Naruto.

What had begun as fun and games was quickly becoming a desperate brawl to out-hurt the other. Naruto and Kiba had both been talking about how out-of-sorts they felt in lew of not doing anything 'productive' lately, so Kiba had suggested that they come down to the gym—something neither of them had done since Kankuro practically forced them—and try to work up a sweat and get some endorphins going.

Now they were just trying to beat the snot out of each other. Gai watched with a smile. He was an odd one. He knew they wouldn't really hurt each other, but he felt that they desperately needed to let off some steam. When they were truly gone and tired, he'd move in and separate them. But not until then.

"Ow! Naruto, you're gonna break my arm, let go!" Kiba protested, trying to wiggle free.

"Say 'I'm a pretty little girl!' first, then I'll let go,"growled Naruto, a smile curving his lips.

"I'm a pretty little girl! Now get _off!_" Kiba growled, forcing his foot up and into Naruto's face. Naruto whimpered, but refused to let go.

"Now that's not nice!" He chuckled and slugged Kiba in the back of the head before he stood up. "But you did follow your end of the bargain so I gotta get up."

"Ow! Fuck, man, next time we come down here I'm _so_ kicking your ass."

Gai stepped forward, his hands on his hips. "You know, if you guys would like to actually learn _how_ to fight, I have no problem teaching ya the tricks of the trade. I used to be a famous boxer before I got too many concussions... started having hallucinations and they threw me in here. I don't have them anymore, at least I don't think so... But anyway, would you like to stoke the fiery embers of our souls into a more passionate burn?"

"As long as you two aren't trying to play grab as with me... fine." Kiba agreed, smiling. "Sounds like fun, honestly. Kind of makes me want to start up our own 'Fight Club'."

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

KANKURO COULDN'T STAND the thought of having to look her in the eyes as he talked to her; he kept his face buried in her shirt as he spoke to her. His voice wavered pitifully and he hated himself for it.

"He used to call us down to his room at night and force us to kneel at his bedside and pray. He'd hug Temari and send her to her room. Then he'd hug Gaara, and kiss him. Sometimes he made Gaara stay. Others, he sent him to his room and then he'd go 'tuck him in' after..."

Kankuro tried to repress the convulsive shiver of disgust that rippled through him but he could not. He waited for her to say something, but she didn't. She only tightened her fingers' grip on his head, clutching him to her in the only comforting way she could think of.

"He... he never did worse than touch Gaara. I made sure of it. I got the shit beat of me a lot for that, but I never let him do more than touch him. I should have done more, but... I didn't. I should have told someone. I should have gotten us out of there. I shouldn't have let him even touch him..." Kankuro's fist curled around the fabric of her shirt, clenching it in his grasp until he nearly ripped it. He was crying now; he could hear his father's chiding remarks in the back of his mind, even now.

'_What are you crying for? I haven't given you a reason to cry yet. Come here, boy. Maybe I ought to see if little girls cry half as much as little boys.' _

"Kankuro you couldn't have done anything. You were a child," Kai protested, pulling his face from her chest. He resisted, but relented when he saw that she didn't have a look of disdain, or worse a look of pity on her face. Instead, she looked furious. "It's disgusting. We will kill him, hm? I don't know how, but we will do it. He will suffer for what he did."

Kankuro smiled slightly, pressing his face into her neck so he could inhale the smell of her once again. It had been so long... "Thank you," he mumbled, trying to regain the gravelly tone his voice normally had. It still sounded broken and weak.

"You're welcome," she replied, unsure of just what to say. He pressed his lips against hers in earnest, not giving her a chance to say anything else. Perhaps that was for the best.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

TSUNADE JOLTED SLIGHTLY when the door opened without warning, trying futilely to swipe the tears from her cheeks. They'd mingled with her mascara, resulting in a dull, hazy gray smear across the apples of her cheeks.

"I'm sorry that I... I didn't stay to help you," murmured Sasori, pinching his earlobe in agitation. "I didn't... I'm not good at this."

"This is highly unprofessional, but a hug would be fucking fantastic right now," she sobbed. Her shoulders sagged dejectedly when he stared at her for a moment. She let out a sob of relief when he wordlessly sat on the desk in front of her, wrapping his arms around her. "Why did this happen? I thought this would mean progress! I... I've never seen him so broken before. I thought it was bad before you told him. But then... then..."

A tide of vicious sobs overcame her and she couldn't continue. Sasori said nothing, he simply held her in an attempt to keep her from falling further apart. It physically hurt him to see her like this; she was the one that he came to when he felt like that inside. He could never be so vocal about his emotions; it would only make him feel worse afterward. Crying was forbidden in his house.

"I just want them to be happy! To have fucking normal lives! Are they not allowed to have it? Am I going about this wrong?" Tsunade attempted to pull back, but Sasori tightened his grip.

"Shh... Uhm, uh... just let it all out." _Let it all out? You'd think with as much television as you watch you could at least _pretend_ you know what to say to her, you fucking retard. _

Tsunade wailed loudly, wrapping her arms around him as she sobbed. She squeezed so tightly that Sasori's eyes bulged and he had to suck a breath in through his nostrils.

"Do you think it'll be okay? They need to... tell somebody. IF not me, somebody else. They beat themselves up so much about _everything. _ I know I give them a tough time, but it's just to show them I care! Do they hate me?"  
"No. They love you. They just can't tell you that. It'd mean they had something to lose."

Tsunade sniffed loudly, pulling back despite his resistance. "Really?"

Sasori nodded, averted his eyes. "Come here, your make up looks hideous." He held his arms open again, laughing slightly when she begrudingly returned to his embrace. "I feel like I'm looking at the living dead."

"I wish I could adopt you, you ungrateful little shit," she said thickly, laughing when he said 'Oh boy! You mean I can have my own room and everything?' "Ah, if only..."

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SASUKE GLARED AT the book in his hand, unsure why it pissed him off so badly. Orochimaru had forced them to read A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley; he utterly loathed it.

"It's not so bad once you get past all the kids fucking and what not," laughed Fae, noticing his bitter expression.

"Oh really? I thought _that_ was the crowning achievement of this _master_ful piece of shit," purred Kiba in a startlingly good imitation of Orochimaru's serpentine voice.

"Ha! I thought that John's the representation of man as a whole. Of a man that I would just simply _love _to sink my teeth int-" Sasuke was interrupted by Orochimaru's own voice, which was dripping with sarcasm.

" I'd simply love to ask you why you are so obsessed with my deliciously sexy voice, but I'll refrain and instead ask you why you are so rude as to talk about it while I am right here."

Orochimaru's eyes glinted with mirth, but he didn't wait for a reply as he turned and marched away from them, giving them a serpent like shake.

"Ya know, if he wasn't such a creep he might be a fun guy," laughed Sasuke, putting his hands behind his head. "He hates all the same things I do, and he-"

"Sasuke. Stop. We have cookies. We're the fun darkside. We're saving you from vicious butt-sex," warned Fae, raising her eyebrows in earnest. Sasuke couldn't repress the loud guffaws that erupted from him. Then he paused, thoughtfully.

"Ya know. Naruto and I haven't fucked yet. I wonder who will be the top and who will be the bottom..."

"I kind of just assumed you would-" Fae broke off, realizing that she was implying she'd thought about Naruto and Sasuke doing it. "Wait. I mean, I thought that—well, you're more assertive and-"

"Oh, look, Sasuke! Fae's got a mind that's as dirty as mine!" howled Kiba, laughing so loudly that the librarian shot him a dirty look. Kankuro and Gaara both glared at him for being so vibrantly happy, but he didn't care. As far as he was concerned, his life was golden at the moment.


	35. Love Isn't Simple

TSUNADE AVERTED HER eyes for a moment as she stared at him, gritting her teeth in pure agony. She wanted to help Gaara so badly; to be sitting here in a deadlock with him was utterly nerve-wracking. Sasori had done as she asked and stayed in the wing while she 'talked' to him. So fair their talk had consisted of him glaring at her half-heartedly while she picked at the hem of her shirt, only glancing at him every once in a while.

He didn't want to break the silence, but a nagging voice inside of his head was telling him that he needed help. He knew that he sure as hell couldn't keep on living with the way things were. There were so many questions that he didn't know the answers to. That was one of the worst parts for him; the not knowing.

Tsunade sighed softly, pulling her hair back into a bun. Gaara masked his admiration for her as she moved. On the surface she appeared cool and collected even though he know on the inside her resolve was crumbling. He was waiting for it to break, for her to beg him to speak, get frustrated, and then march off in frustration. Another part of him was strongly averted to that. It was the strangest thing.

The idea of hurting her brought forth no good feelings. He felt no stronger for remaining quiet. In fact, the silence was killing him. He didn't understand it. This was similar to the feelings he felt after hurting Sakura. It was similar to how Gaara felt when he was getting ready to do something terrible to Sakura and then thought better of it. The sight of their tears was a powerful depressant. But he didn't know why.

"It's strange," he murmured, not actually meaning to speak out loud.

Tsunade's head perked up, her gaze shifting from the now-fraying hem of her shirt to Gaara's pensive features. "What?"

Gaara flinched slightly, realizing his casual utterance. "It's strange... I don't want to talk to you. But not because... It is..." He trailed off, unsure of how to phrase his thoughts. He didn't think he liked her. He wasn't sure if he was feeling guilt or if he cared about her at all. "I don't wish to speak to you, yet I have a bizarre aversion to the mental image of you crying."

Tsunade hummed in consideration as she thought. She couldn't openly assume anything about his feelings or tell him how he was feeling. He would make efforts to not feel that way if he was being told he felt that way. If she told him it was because he cared about her he might retort with an action or set of words to make her believe otherwise.

Gaara stared at her, tilting his head to the side. He was confused by her lack of words. "Why are you silent? This isn't how this works."

"Trying to tell you what I think you might be feeling would be counterproductive. You have the tendency to negate my assumptions by purposefully doing otherwise. I would rather not tell you how you're feeling because truth be told... I know how you feel."

Tsunade watched as he quickly forced his gaze away from her face. She wondered if she looked as morose as she felt. Gaara studied the palms of his hands; they were resting palm-side up on his thighs. When had he done that? He usually sat with his hands clenched into fists, resting on the arms of the chairs. It was a bizarre gesture of offering; at least, it looked that way to him.

Was his subconscious trying to tell him to offer something? He'd heard Tsunade talk enough about the subconscious when he was ten that he'd looked it up and learned about it. Subtle cues like this were important. Weren't they?

Gaara pushed the thoughts away, trying to focus on his feelings. It was hard to know what he was feeling when he had no idea what certain emotions felt like. He'd only recently begun to feel even a hint of love. It was something he'd thought was always out of his grasp, but now that he had even a glimpse of it with Sakura he realized it in other aspects of his life. There was a very strong, strange emotion he had for Kankuro.

It was nothing like what he felt Sakura. He usually associated the feelings with lust and wanting laid. But this was more than that. It was different with Kankuro; he felt a subtle sense of calm in the pit of his stomach and in his chest it tingled oddly whenever Kankuro went out of his way to do something good for him.

He'd felt that oddly... endearing tingle when Kankuro had pulled him out of his emotional pit. Tsunade was staring at him now, a strange look playing across her features. It would range from confused to something else and then back to confused.

"I don't like it when you stare at me."

"I'm sorry, Gaara, I just couldn't help it. You look like you're having quite the battle of wits with yourself. You look... I can't describe it. What are you thinking about?" She pressed her lips together anxiously, hoping he'd let her in just a little bit.

Gaara shifted his weight to the right, bracing his elbows against the plush arms of the chair. He pressed his fingertips together as he thought on for a moment. When he opened his mouth to speak, he began flexing his fingertips back and forth against each other. "I am thinking about Kankuro."

Tsunade waited for a moment, hoping he'd continue on. He surprised her by fulfilling her wish. "I have been thinking... I read of emotions in books. I read as much as I can in the hopes that the... actions of people can be explained to me. To understand people's motives... You do not truly understand a person's emotions before you can understand how they feel for yourself."

Tsunade leaned forward, resting an elbows on her knee. She was truly interested now. They were not separated by a large desk today; instead they both sat across from each other in session chairs. She was so much more at attention right now. "Are you questioning your brother's motives and emotions?"

"No." Gaara shook his head slightly, as if to clear his mind. "My own. Although, I might as well question his if I am questioning my own. Have you ever noticed something that you never did before? Then you see it everywhere?"

Tsunade nodded, a slight smile on her lips. " I remember when I was five I didn't know you said 'God bless you!' when someone sneezed. I thought it was some strange word. Ga-ble-shoe. I thought they were talking about a monster that gobbled shoes... But when I found out what it actually was, I always notice when someone sneezes and like-wise whether or not someone says 'God bless you.'"

Gaara smirked slightly, pleased she'd picked a humorous detail to share with him. It made him sad though that his was of such a negative nature. "I have begun to realize how it is... to _not _want to make someone as miserable as I myself am so used to being... at first I didn't even realize it. Then when that happened, I realized that... Kankuro is one of the ones I make the most miserable and for no good reason. I... think I care for him."

"I think you do as well," admitted Tsunade, figuring that if he had admitted it himself she could capitalize upon his statement. "Does it feel how you thought it would?"

"I am not sure. Some aspects are what I had imagined, but others are not," he replied, ceasing the war of his fingers. With a disgruntled sigh he pushed his fingers past one another, interlocking them. "Is love different from lust?"

"Yes. When you love someone, or even like them, you crave their company not because you want to have sex with them, but because you enjoy their company. They make you feel... happy."

Gaara's eyes widened and he dropped his gaze to his lap. He was beginning to feel depressed again. He hadn't felt happy with Sakura. He still felt as miserable as he always was. "What if you like being around them even though they don't make you feel happy?"

"Well..." Tsunade stared at the ceiling as she thought of a fitting response. "I think even unhappy people can love. Even if they aren't happy, they can feel less unhappy while with the one they either love or like. As for romantic like or love, you might feel more at ease with them than you do anyone else. I know this may sound disgusting, but lovers who can cuddle after sex and just lay with each other usually love each other more. Not if one doesn't want to be there, but if both do... Love, while a very strong emotion, can sometimes be as simple as being at ease around that person."

Gaara smiled slightly, though she couldn't see it because he had ducked his head. He was thinking of Sakura. To think that he could love someone was exhilarating. Sakura had said that he loved her because he was willing to let her lay with him and play with his hair... His exhilaration failed when he wondered if she loved him as she said she did. It seemed highly unlikely; his father had not loved him. He had pretended. But he had... he had lied.

"Gaara, I know this might make you unhappy, but-" Gaara's head shot up, the tears in his eyes forgotten. "over the years, I have come to notice things about you. In brief little flickers, I can see the real you. I can see that you're not what you think you are."

"I'm not capable of being loved am I? What good is it if I can love someone if-"

"Gaara,, you _are _capable of being loved. Do you know why you are?" Tsunade moved closer to him, sitting in the chair next to him. He shook his head left and right to indicate that he did not know why. "Because _I _ love you. You are like a son to me. I know that I can never replace your mother; granted you never knew her, but I love you just like she would have. I want to protect you from harm; not because I pity you, but because I want you safe. I want you to get better because you deserve to be better. You deserve to do better and have better people than you do!"

Gaara stared at her, shocked by her confessions. They fell on him like stones, breaking through the walls he thought he had carefully cultivated and landing on his ego, leaving deep welts and bruises. The right side of his mouth quirked up in a flicker of a smile before his face screwed up in a mask of confusion and hurt.

Tsunade leaned back an inch or two, horrified with herself. She had probably just set herself back not in a month's worth of work, but _years_.

Gaara's eyebrows drew together and he looked down at his hands, which were once again resting on the top of his thighs. They were gathered into fists but not because of what she had said. It was all the words left unsaid to him for all those years. When he lifted his eyes to meet her gaze, which he could feel upon his head and neck, his eyes brimmed with the unshed tears of a lifetime of depravity. "Why didn't he? Why wasn't I _good _enough?"

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"WHERE'S GAARA?" INQUIRED Shikamaru, looking up from his position on the couch. Shikamaru rose a brow when Sasori shrugged casually. "Come on, I know she told you."

Kankuro rose a suspicious brow and cast his gaze in their direction but said nothing. Sasori didn't notice.

"Obviously you know where he is if you're going to talk about her," he muttered, pulling his feet up in front of him so that he could wrap his arms around them. "I just wish I hadn't ever told him. I feel... I think I feel bad..."

Kankuro snorted and threw down the book. "What do you mean you _think_? Haven't you ever felt bad for hurting somebody?"

Sasori's brows drew together as he thought about it. He'd only ever felt bad when someone had rejected him. He wasn't used to connecting with people. Kai had been refreshing because she'd gotten close enough to him to tell him some of her problems. That had been a first for him. A first time he hadn't wanted to ruin someone for trying to get even a little bit close.

"No."

"Not even a friend?"

"I never had friends."

"Damn."

Kankuro was baffled by that one. He hadn't had good friends since he was ten and still attending school. Granted, he'd never told anyone just what had happened and he lied to each of them everyday, but he'd at least known friendship growing up. "Why not?"

Sasori shrugged as if he didn't care about what he was saying. "Mom had schizophrenia. Every time I'd get even the slightest hint of a friend or anything. I guess saying I never had friends was... extreme. I did have a friend or two. But every single time I made a friend, she'd move us. Dad was rich enough to support her lunacy, but... it didn't help me any. I don't know _how _to be friends with someone. All I ever wanted all of my life was to meet the kid she was obsessed with, but... I screwed even that up."

Kankuro was quiet for a moment. "Didn't she ever talk about me?"

Sasori bit his lip, suddenly hesitant. "Are you sure you want me to tell you the truth?"

Kankuro gasped slightly, completely taken by surprise. Was it really that bad? He looked away, trying to breath evenly. "Yeah."

"She thought you were dead. She thought Gaara was dead, too, but she just... She had resigned herself to losing you, I guess. She said that the people who would steal me had stolen you, too. I don't think she didn't want you; she made a weird shrine for you in every house." Sasori could see the undecided look on his brother's face, and he stopped. "When you and Gaara are both ready, Tsunade would like to help me explain to you exactly just what happened."

Kankuro nodded, dully. Naruto's voice from the other room was becoming increasingly loud in his ears until he couldn't stand it anymore. Sasori looked away, unsure of what to do.

"Cheer up, Kankuro. I don't like it when you're sad," moaned Shikamaru, sitting up on the couch. "Don't make me get up and tickle you, you troublesome motherfucker."

Kankuro laughed slightly, smiling at Shikamaru. "Really? You'd get off your ass just for me?"

"Aye, that I would. But I'd rather not. Tsunade would say I'm making progress and try to remove me from the institution." Shikamaru laced his hands behind his head, keeping one eye cracked open to gauge Kankuro's reaction.

"Ha! Doubt that... I don't think we'll ever get out of here."

"Yeah," admitted Sasori. "You wouldn't be able to continue killing scum like Kisame if you _did _get out."

Kankuro froze, staring at Sasori in complete shock. How had he known that?

There was a slight creek as Naruto's door slowly swung open. Naruto, Sasuke, and Kiba stood there in utter confusion and fear. Paint was still smeared all over their hands from the project they'd been working on. Ironically, they were caught red-handed.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SAKURA FROWNED, THE fading light that filtered through her window and past the bars casting spooky shadows on her face. She was waiting for Gaara to return. There was a commotion in the living room, but she was too tired to get out of bed.

Gaara had kept her up all night the past two nights. His sexual appetite had become insatiable, although she wasn't sure it was because he found her body irresistible. She didn't know what was wrong, but she knew he wasn't going to tell her if he didn't want to.

The sex had been great at first, but after a while it had begun to hurt. A girl's body was only meant to take so much. She'd known that he was hurting more than she possible could have, so she hadn't said anything. She wondered if he'd even noticed.

He was talkative. Not about anything important. He was desperately avoiding conversation. Gaara's hunger to kill was undeniable. His latest target was a pedophile. She felt bad that she and the rest of the wing, sans Sasori, couldn't help him cleans their institution of the sicko, but it wasn't possible at the moment. As long as Sasori was with them, they couldn't do anything. It was too risky to try and bring him on board with their doings.

When her door creaked open, she looked up with glee, expecting Gaara. Sakura was saddened to see that it was Kankuro.

"I got to talk to you," he explained, not even bothering to ask before he walked in. Kai followed closely after, giving Sakura a shy smile. "Sorry, it's a trust thing," he said, explaining Kai's presence. She sat down on the floor, doing her best to keep her presence to a minimum in their conversation.

"What do you want?"

"Sasori knows." Kankuro exhaled shakily, then repressed a victorious smile. "He said he heard about it from Genma. Genma apparently knew we had to have done something when Kisame was found as he was. Genma was grateful because Kisame beat him to a pulp on a regular basis, even when unprovoked. So..."

Sakura sat up, pondering the possibilities of what Kankuro was telling her. "Judging by how happy you seem about this, I would assume that he is... in favor of what we do?"

Kankuro nodded gleefully, rocking back onto his heels. "It's been too long."

"Indeed, it has," purred a deep voice from the doorway. Sakura smiled when Gaara stepped over the threshold and sank down onto the bed next to her. "But, before we do that... You both need to leave so I can speak to Sakura."

Sakura's heart sank, hoping she wouldn't have to have sex for the umpteeth time in the past two days. Kai and Kankuro wordlessly departed, leaving them alone.

She was both pleasantly surprised and deeply when worried when she realized that Gaara's true intention was to talk to her.

**Author's Note: So... This is what I did. I wrote it in like an hour and a half after I got home from school today. I hope you enjoy. I'm beginning to rap things up for this portion of the story. Sorry if my writing is less... reform, I guess. I'm writing on Open Office and can't figure out how to get it to grammar check. :P **

**Let me know what you think. **

**ALSO! I have a poll. **

**Gaara and Kankuro are going to meet their mother. Do we want... **

**A.] Their mother to resume a position of motherliness? **

**B.] Tsunade to be their mother figure; she worked with them since Gaara nine and Kankuro was ten. **


	36. I'mSickOfMakingTitlesForChapters

GAARA'S EYES BURNED into hers with such startling intensity she couldn't help the small flicker of fear that tremulously rallied in her stomach. The only other times Sakura had seen such heat in his eyes was when he was glaring at her with all he was worth, trying to break her spirit. Never since he'd admitted his worries of not being able to love her properly had she even seen that fire.

She was torn between a feeling of lust and a wretched feeling of fear. Was it acceptable to fear the one you loved? Sometimes Sakura feared herself, so perhaps it was admissible...

"Sakura, I have a confession to make," he whispered, his voice carrying a double-edged taint of fear and excitement. Perhaps she needed not fear him, only his actions.

"What is it?" She replied in whispers as well, though it was not a conscious effort.

Gaara smiled, leaning in to press his cool lips to hers in a plan kiss. He could sense her fear, though he himself knew she was misplacing. It didn't offend him that she seemed so afraid of him; the red-haired devil, as some had taken to calling him, had been acting quite strangely as of late and he deemed her emotional response perfunctory.

With a slow lick of his lower lip, he parted his lips to share his secret. "I've not been completely truthful to you."

Sakura pulled back slightly, raising an unruly brow in slight annoyance. "Oh? I thought the great Sabaku was nary a liar..."

"The liars met where the doors were locked. They said to each other: Now for War. The liars fixed it and told 'em : Go." Gaara smiled slightly, wondering if she'd catch his allusion. "I do not lie for folly, I lie for my own heart's quiescent jolly."

"Mm, quoting poetry to me, are you? First bit is... Sandburg, I think. But I don't recognize the last bit... What does it mean?" Sakura's lips lifted into a soft smile of their own accord, ignoring her desire to be aggravating by his ever-mysterious behavior.

"I seek to hide my sadness," he murmured, taking her hands and holding them within his own. "But I feel I need to be open with you if I intend to love you as I have learned I can."

"It seems as though you can't find the right words to say... I don't mind it if you seek to borrow the words of others to express the feelings that you don't understand, you know," she admitted, leaning in to press her lips against his cheek. She paused for a moment before drawing back. "In fact, I think it's rather sweet and takes more talent than most could muster."

Gaara smiled averting his eyes sheepishly at her gentle praise. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make my stomach feel all funny... Like I'm going to vomit, but in a good way... Is there a good way that you want to throw up?" Gaara made a disgusted face, and groaned. "This is why I can't tell you how I feel. Because how I feel is _wrong. _I like it when you do that, I just.. that's the only way I can describe it."

"I think I make you feel good about yourself, Gaara." Sakura twined the fingers of her left hand through his hair, pushing it out of his face. He needed a hair cut—it was getting to long. "You're just not used to it. I love you when you're like this."

Gaara paused for a moment and looked away, deep in thought. "You love me when I feel nauseous?"

Sakura's fresh peels of laughter fell on his ears like the first flakes of snow falling to the earth. Peaceful and inspiring a desire for more. Gaara had known that would make her laugh, but he didn't understand what she had meant, either.

"No! When you're vulnerable. Because no one else gets to see you like this..."

Gaara sat bolt upright. His movement was so quick she feared she had startled him or said the wrong thing. However, when he turned his head to look at her a grin so wide and hopeful was plastered to his face that she just had to smile. "That's what Tsunade said! She told me that love is many things and one of them is as simple as being at ease around that person. She also said it's wanting to be with them not just because of the sex and that if you can just... cuddle-" This word sounded extremely foreign to Sakura when she heard it roll so strangely off of her lover's lips. "-with the other person afterwards—if you _really _want to, not just because they do, but you do—then you probably love them."

A soft smile crept to her lips. Her cheeks were dusted with a fairly pink blush that Gaara found rather charming. "This is why I love you," he mumbled, ducking his eyes in embarrassment. "You make me feel..._anything_. You make me feel angry, happy, sad... For the longest time I was just numb to it all. I am not a happy person, but I am... less unhappy when I am with you."

"Oi!"

The precious moment was ruined by the loud grunt and a series of loud, hammering raps on the door.

Gaara growled deep in his throat, angry to have his first Hallmark-worthy-moment ruined by the callousness of his roommates. "What the fuck do you _want_?"

"Get your ass out here, we have a group meeting with Tsunade!" shouted Naruto, flinging the door open once he'd been acknowledged. "You might wanna help Kiba reassure Fae that we aren't completely psychotic. I kind of forgot that no one had broached her about the subject of our... activities. If she rats on us to Tsunade, were toast."

"Why don't we just kill _her _then?" grouched Gaara, crawling off of Sakura's bunk.

Naruto sighed as though he were about to explain something incredibly simple to a child. "Because it'd be too obvious and Kiba's fallen in love with her. We can't take that away from him twice, can we?"

Gaara grunted, mumbling something that Naruto couldn't quite make out. It sounded a little bit like he had said "_Why is everyone so concerned with falling in love?_"

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"YOU'RE FUCKNG KIDDING me right?" demanded Kankuro, eyeing the object of his disgruntled emotions with a leery eye. "_Please _tell me you're kidding me..."

Sasori groaned deep in his throat and gave Tsunade a pleading look. "Tsunade, I know I should have explained things to them in a more... delicate way, but this! This? This is just cruel."

"No it isn't!" Tsunade protested. "I want you two to use these puppets to express yourself. Gaara has a homework project as well, you know."

Kankuro shouted in frustration, slamming his fists against the arms of his chair. "You gave him a fucking video camera. What is he supposed to do with _that_? Make a _sex _tape with his girlfriend? He gets the cool shit and we get fucking hand puppets."

"Yes, well, I feel that it will help you both to... express yourself. Sasori, you need to learn to externalize your... more unsavory emotions in a relatively harmless way. I expect you both to use your puppets for the next week."

Sasori leaned towards Kankuro, as though he were going to share a secret, but spoke in tones loud enough for the whole room to hear his input. "I bet she's gonna have Gaara film us and make sure we do it. She's gonna sell his sex-tapes and market us as the stooges."

"Just shut up and shove your hands up their asses already!" taunted Naruto, chuckling at their discomfort.

Tsunade repressed an amused chuckle and then sighed. "It's nice to hear you joking around, but seriously, I need you guys to use them. Come on, give it a try."

Kankuro gave Naruto a dirty look before eying the atrocious puppet before him. "Why did I have to get a beaver?"

Gaara laughed to himself, discreetly lifting the video camera out of his lap. With a subtle click and unnoticed beep, he began to record his brothers' struggles.

Sasori slipped his hand inside of the classic sock-puppet, tutting and sighing when he realized his hands were too large for it. "This is retarded."

"Ah ah ah—speak through the puppet. Say something to me that you've always wanted to say—even if it's super mean and you think I can't take it," instructed Tsunade. She leaned back, folding her arms across her chest. She was on the defensive.

"I can't say that!" he protested, his blue eyes wide and uncomprehending.

"Yes you can! Socko gives you the right to—he's therapeutic," she informed, a slight smile crossing her mouth. It was contrary, because he could hear the slight fear in her voice. She knew that he knew he could hurt her right now.

"I can't-"

"You have to move his mouth."

Sasori growled in frustration before lifting the sock-puppet and making wildly exaggerated mouth motions to fit his own words. "I think that... you're too good of a person for me to have anything bad to say about..."

Kankuro's lip curled back in distaste when Tsunade smiled. He gave Naruto a curious look, but the blonde only offered a slight shrug. Neither of them understood Sasori's connection with Tsunade, but they both were curious and justly so.

Kankuro lifted up his puppet, ramming his hand up to the mouth of the beaver. He grimaced, thinking of the action that made him so uncomfortable before he lifted the beaver. He pushed his arm straight out from his body, shoving his shoulders into the cushiony chair and looking away as he talked.

"I'm the kind of beaver that gets it's wood chucked; I don't chuck wood. If ya catch my drift...wood." He snickered, pleased he could at least make jokes if he couldn't think of anything productive to say.

"Hey, hey—the only one who should be talking about boners here is Kiba, and that's because he _likes _them," purred Fae, giving the brown-haired boy a dark look. She was still angry with him for not explaining his wing's unique... position on the "death penalty." Finding out last was a pet peeve.

"Hey! I like the pussy, even if I hate cats!" Kiba argued, his face reddening at her implication.

"Why do feel like these meetings are never as serious as they're supposed to be?" drawled Sasuke, sighing in annoyance. "I mean, come on. Don't you guys ever want to get out?"

The room was silent for a moment; even Tsunade had nothing to say. It wasn't a hard question to answer, and it didn't really scare them that he had said it, but it wasn't something that many of them consciously thought about.

"But... where would we go? I love you guys. I don't know if... I could function out there," admitted Kai, her shoulder twitching in agitation. "It's not really likely that we'll get out anyway..."

Sasuke growled in irritation; she hardly ever had an outbreak of psychosis; how could she even say that? He himself wanted out but he was deemed "UFS." Unft and unsafe for society. It was like a life-sentence, though he did have an opportunity for parole with every so many years. But that was every five years. After he'd screwed up the last one, he'd tried to kill Lee. That had been a mere six months ago. And then two weeks later he'd ended up in the wing with the rest of these people.

"I'm marked UFS. Unfit for society... But you guys could at least... get out."

There was a lull in conversation as each of them reflected upon his words. He was wrong, of course. They were all marked UFS. They just didn't know it. Gaara had seen it in their files, but he'd been to preoccupied with other matters to ever really put two and two together. Now, as those simple little facts clicked into place, he felt incredibly stupid.

"We're all UFS. Hn." Gaara snorted in derision, but then his smile spread and he began to giggle hysterically.

Tsunade knitted her brows together in confusion. What was so funny about this? "Would you care to tell us all what you find so funny?"

Gaara took a deep breath, calming himself. Gaara laughing was scarier than Gaara salivating at the thought of tearing someone's skin off. "We don't have to worry about leaving! Don't you see?"

Sakura had become incredibly pale. Now she was the one that was nauseous, though she was sure that the way Gaara had just repulsed her was not the way she made him feel. She didn't need to worry about leaving.

"Tsunade! You said... But, you said I could still get out!" she screech, standing up so suddenly that her chair tipped backwards.

Tsunade's mouth fell ajar in idiotic realization. She hadn't told Sakura she was marked UFS... "I know I did. I didn't tell you how long you'd be here, though."

"You lied to me! You said I could get out! Every time I asked you how much longer I had to stay, you told me—you told me I had to stay for a while longer!" Sakura screamed in frustration. The tears began to flow as she clutched at her hair. She missed her luscious hair; it was brittle and ruined now.

Gaara's eyes widened as he realized that he'd just carelessly trampled on her hopes. She'd been hoping to get out of here, that much he knew. It was one of the reasons he'd resisted getting attached... "Sakura, I-"

"This meeting is over, you can all go back to your room. Sakura, I'd like you to stay back so I can talk to you," interjected Tsuande. She gave Gaara a pleading look, begging him to let her talk to Sakura before things got ugly. That was a bit too late, but she was hoping she could work a little metaphorical plastic surgery.

Gaara admitted defeat, begrudgingly forcing himself to walk out of the room. As the rest of his troupe meandered down the hallway, back towards their wing, he lingered behind. Dully, he noticed that his camera was still recording. He lamely pushed the button to end the recording before he turned it off.

Gaara turned to the orderly, whom he recognized from before. He couldn't place the face to a name or a time, but the man made him feel un-threatened. He didn't meet his eye, instead shrugging to the door to indicate that he was waiting.

"No worries, man, I'm not gonna send you on your way. You can wait as long as you like," smiled the orderly. Gaara tightened the corners of his mouth in a grimace that he meant to be a smile. The man in front of him smiled and nodded, understanding his difficulty.

All he had wanted was for Sakura to be with him. Now he knew that she didn't want to be here... Had he said the wrong thing?

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

THE GROUP OF them sat in the living room, half-heartedly awaiting Gaara and Sakura's return as they chatted amongst themselves.

"I wonder if they put us together because we aren't leaving? We'll never leave each other, so it won't upset us if someone leaves..." mused Sasuke, scratching his cheek harshly. He needed to shave, badly.

"At least I'm stuck here with you," purred Naruto, climbing into Sasuke's lap. He straddled him shameless, but though better of his position and moved off. He wasn't shy of kissing in public—at least not his friends—but he knew that it was rude to do such things in their presence.

Shikamaru groaned lazily and sat up, his face heavy with exhaustion. "I think that she wants us together to do something. I've talk to her about it."

Kankuro's brows drew together and he leaned forward. "Does it have to do with Sasori?"

Sasori sat up straighter, surprised and irritated by Kankuro's jealousy-fueled suggestion. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh _come _on, I've _seen _you with her! You go off to see her when something even slightly goes wrong! It's not rocket science," scathed Kankuro, bearing his teeth in his aggression.

Sasori angrily lifted his hand, using his sock-puppet to enunciate. "Maybe I have things to tell her that I can't tell you! Maybe I was telling her that I just wanted my brothers to actually talk to me and stop ignoring my existence!"

Kankuro's face reddened with anger. He stood up quickly, frightening Kai with his sudden motion. She recoiled into a huddle as he oddly followed suit and lifted the weird beaver puppet. "Maybe I _hate _you! You keep trying to _take _shit from me! News flash, fuck off! They're _people_! You can't just-"

Sasori angrily jumped at Kankuro, his hands going straight for his throat. Kankuro had more muscle than he did, but Sasori was taller. His height differential was just enough to send them flying to the floor, narrowly avoiding the television.

"Quick! Fae, they're gonna break the fucking TV! Help me- OW!" Kiba growled angrily when the two boys, who were now brawling and rolling around in their efforts to kill one another, elbowed him in his foot.

Fae laughed merrily. This was fun! However, she didn't want them to take away the television that entertained her with bright sparkles and fun at night when everything was dark.

Naruto and Sasuke calmly watched the two men that rolled around the floor, trying to refrain from envisioning them without clothing. Naruto made sure not to think those thoughts about his friends—boy or girl—and especially Kankuro. He knew how uncomfortable Kankuro was with those things, even if he didn't know why.

"Should we stop them?" asked Shikamaru, his lazy voice dragging over the syllables.

"Nah," said Naruto. "This has been a long time coming. Stop looking so down Kai, they're not fighting because of you. It's Gaara they're fighting over. Though, if that makes you feel bad, maybe you _should _think they're fighting over you."

Kai gave him a dirty look, before scoffing. "Either way I feel like an asshole so what does it matter?

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

WHEN THE DOOR finally opened, Gaara pushed off of the wall he'd been leaning against anxiously. He stepped forward to greet Sakura, his eyebrows raising hopefully as he sucked in a nervous breath.

"Look, I'm sor-"

Gaara's words were cut off by the sound of a resounding smack. His breath left him in a strangled gasp; he stared at her in confusion as his shoulders sagged and his hand came to rest upon his cheek.

"You'd be happy that I'm _stuck _in here with you now, aren't you?" she snarled, poking her finger into his chest. "I had resigned myself to being here, but I still dreamed of getting out of here someday! I _had friends! _I had a family! Now what do I have?"

Gaara's eyes spoke volumes about the panicked fear galloping through his veins, but he couldn't say anything. The words wouldn't come.

"I don't even have any dreams left to cling to! All you can care about is you!" she snapped, shoving past him and leaving him behind.

Gaara did not move from his position as he watched her go. What the hell had just happened?

He glanced slowly to the left, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he remembered that the orderly who was their had probably seen the whole ordeal. To his surprise and immense relief, no one was there. The relief faded when he realized he was alone again.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SAKURA KNEW THAT he hadn't truly deserved that. She would apologize to him later. Right now she was too pissed off about the vicious injustice of being labeled unfit for society. She was fit for fucking society, goddamit. She's show that bitch.

Sakura yanked the door to wing open with an angry growl, ignoring the sounds off her own angered breathing. She paused when she heard the meaty sound of flesh pounding on flesh.

Entering into the living room, she noticed that Sasori and Kankuro were rolling around on the floor, trying to kill each other. Kankuro was repeatedly hitting Sasori in the face with his puppet-encased hand, smacking him with the square, wooden teeth of the puppet. It would have been rather comical had she not been so pissed off.

They paused for a moment to take in her pissed off stance, then quickly returned to their fight when they realized her death-to-he-who-speaks-to-me aura. Smart boys.

She plopped down on her bed, trying to ignore the swirling pit of regret within her. She shouldn't have said those things to him. Anything but what she had said to him would have sufficed. Why had she said those things? With a stream of self-berating thoughts she emerged from her room, irritated to ee that tey were still fighting, and took off to find Gaara. This was one apology she couldn't avoid.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

TEMARI HAD BEEN heavily surprise when Gaara arrived at the front desk near tears. Sure it was only eight o' clock, but she had just gotten there so it was surprise to see him already but to see him in near tears terrified her even more.

"Gaara! What—what's wrong?" she inquired, uncomfortable about the whole situation. When they were little, he would come to see her and vaguely ask for help. But she'd never known what to say... this was something that greatly disturbed her; she felt the need to help him now more than ever but she just didn't know how.

"Sakura's angry with me..." he whispered, unsure of how to broach the conversation. He needed a woman's perspective, but Temari's was me trusted than Tsunade's right now. He knew Temari would help him. She'd been helpful in the past, at least once or twice. Not that she'd wanted to help him then.

"Who's Sakura? Did you... Gaara Sabaku! Are you _seeing _someone?"

Shit. This was going to take longer than he thought...

**Author's Note; I apologize for how melodramatic this is. I really do. And I have taken all your reviews into consideration and I'm SO happy with which ones you've picked .:]] I can't wait to continue this :D **

**BUT: Sakura is going to find Gaara and apologize correct? She's never even MET Temari; Gaara has talked about her but only in passing (Idk if I wrote that in but it's what has happened in my mind.) **

**Will she... **

**A.] Freak out and think Gaara is cheating on her when she sees Temari? Be offended? **

**B.] Spy on them for a little bit and see how upset Gaara is and put two-and-two together and realize that he's talking to Temari? **


	37. Sasuke Is a Sexy Slut

THERE WAS NO sign that Kankuro and Sasori's impromptu squabble, which had no turned into an out-and-out brawl that seemed to have no end. Naruto had half a mind to step in himself—the two boys were becoming increasingly bloody and there was no end in sight.

Sasori had grown strangely impassive despite a strange rigor of utter rage that had settled into his now mechanical movements. He seemed to be fighting for the sake of fighting—his rage had taken over and he no longer thought of why he was attempting to conquer the flesh before him—he thought not of what he did but only performed he task.

Kankuro had grown ever so much more emotional than his polar-opposite brother. While Sasori was starkly different from Gaara, as far as twins went, Kankuro was even further ostracized. But he was fighting to regain everything he felt had been robbed of him. He was also looking to reciprocate the injustices he felt.

The injustice of his treatment which could have easily been avoided. Years of being perpetually raped and mistreated when he could have just as easily had what he thought would have been a normal life. Sasori, of course, had no idea of what Kankuro had been through, though he wondered why Kankuro was so jealous of him. It was unbecoming, really.

Kai, distraught and frankly disgusted by their unending behavior, lurched to her feet and attempted to grab the boys by their shoulders and push them apart. Admittedly, it was one of the rather stupidest decisions she had ever made.

At the feel of her hand on his shoulder, Kankuro nonsensically batted her hand away and shoved the same fist deep into Sasori's ribs. Sasori's hand inflicted more damage. He caught her square in the chest and she immediately tumbled backward, smacking into the wall . "Oh!"

Kankuro looked up, perplexed by the sudden sound that he knew belonged to her. Sasori, seizing the opportunity, punched Kankuro directly in the face. Enraged at the impact and Kai's disgruntled state—he wasn't sure whether it was he or Sasori who had hurt her—he resorted to locking his hand's around his brother's throat.

Only then did Sasuke and Naruto step in, each grabbing him by the arm and pulling him away from the red-haired young man who now becoming red in the face. Kankuro was feverishly whispering fervent death threats as he attempted to choke the gleeful light out of Sasori's now maniacally amused eyes.

"Do it!" croaked the younger of the two, "If that'll make you happy, do it!"

Kankuro's resolve suddenly evaporated; the tugging of Naruto and Sasuke was still fully in effect, and as a result the three of them tumbled back. Kankuro landed heavily on top of them; he hastily scurried off of them to kneel on his knees while he stared at his brother in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" inquired Naruto. "I know we're not close, but that's fucked up, man You're gonna have to stick up for yourself if you expect to last around here."

"I don't _want _to last if my own flesh and blood is just going to ignore me! I thought perhaps it would be different, because they weren't raised as I was, but you're just the same... Why do you hate me so much? I haven't even done anything to you yet..." Sasori's blue eyes, dark as the ocean with his swirling depth of emotion, seemed to have lost that maniacal sparkle that had been present only moments before. Naruto swiftly chalked it up to the oxygen deprivation.

Kankuro watched, numbly, as Sasori growled in his efforts to pull himself to his feet. A swift glance to Kai, earned him a dull glare. When Sasori lumbered off to his room, limping and sniffling in a discrete a fashion as he could, even Sasuke fixed him with a pointed look.

"I am aware of your misgivings about physical or emotional contact with the same sex, for which I am painfully sorry at having forced upon you, but you ought to go see if he is okay. It would appear that he is... more deeply hurt than anything you have just done to him. Perhaps he could sympathize with your upbringing?" Sasuke shifted smoothly to the balls of his feet and fingertips as he lithely lifted himself from the floor.

Kankuro grumbled under his breath, unwilling to admit that he wasn't the only one who had been treated unjustly. Naruto thwacked him on the back of his head. "You idiot, get in there. If you hope to ever have a normal brother, you'd better get in there. Gaara's at least trying."

"Shut the fuck up," growled Kankuro. He gave Naruto such a withering look that Sasuke was proud when the dorky blonde didn't wilt in the slightest. Kankuro lurched to his feet, his body audibly creaking with the stress. "Not a word of this. People might begin to think I have a soul. Then they'll expect me to do the right thing."

With a satisfied grin, Naruto watched Kankuro go off to attempt peace with Sasori. He turned to Sasuke planting a kiss on the dark-haired young man's cheek. "If only you glared at me like that every day, I could have glared right back."

"Don't tempt me, idiot."

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SURREPTICIOUSLY, SAKURA PEERED around the corner as Gaara conversed with a woman dressed in the white pants and pale green of what she assumed and vaguely recognized as the night secretary's' uniform. She doubled as an orderly when a rogue patient wandered out past their boundaries in the wee hours of the night. She and Gaara didn't have that problem as they were usually locked into their wing after a certain hour.

He appeared to be talking to her in such a fervent manner it seemed almost comical. He was not usual taken to speak so desperately and openly. Sakura's heart sank when she realized that she was not the only one to see him in such a vulnerable state. Who on earth was he talking to if not her? And of what things was he possibly speaking about with this strange woman?

Sakura lingered behind the cover of the wall, longing to hear the conversation. She felt shady, doing such a deceitful thing, but sometimes desperate times called for... despicable measures.

"I can understand why she wants to leave, but... I don't know why she doesn't want me anymore just because she can't leave! Does... Was I just a way to pass the time?" she could hear Gaara saying. A deep pang of regret rippled through her; she almost stepped out to apologize to him before the other girl began to speak to him. How terrible of her to assume he was thinking of being unfaithful when he had simply gone to seek guidance on what to do in conjunction with her shunning him.

"Gaara, she's probably just upset about being stuck here indefinitely, or possibly the rest of her life. I imagine she just took out her frustration on you. As rude as that was-" Sakura bristled. "she obviously cares for you if she took all that time to worm her way into beneath your skin." Sakura softened a little bit. "And you obviously care for her if you were willing to let her get so close." Sakura waited on baited breath for his response. It was one thing for him to tell her he loved her. It was another thing entirely for him to admit it to someone else when it was not for her benefit.

"Yes... She's... I've never ever felt for anyone what I feel for her. It is... frustrating. It... is intense. At times it feels so strong it hurts me, just here..." he pressed his hands to his chest, above the sternum. "It feels bad, but in a particularly odd way. I think it is love, but if it is... why do I feel like that makes everything else so much more wrong, Temari?"

Temari smiled sarcastically, a low chuckle escaping her. "Fuck. I never in a million years thought you'd be so _deep,_ Gaara!"

Gaara's posture was enough for Sakura to see that he was surprised by the girl's response. She vaguely remembered the mention of the name 'Temari,' but couldn't directly place it. "Wh-what?" he stammered.

Gaara stammering? Oh Lord.

"Easy, easy, Gaara. I just... imagine that you are in the desert, ne? You finally get a taste of water, and your entire body burns and yearns for more water because now... you have had a _taste_." Gaara's eyes widened at her explanation and his cheeks burned crimson. The blush crept into the apples of his cheeks, dusting his fair skin so heavily that Temari smirked. "Pray tell, Gaara... have you lost your virginity yet?"

"Temari! That's-"

"_None _of your business," growled Sakura, stepping out from her hiding place. Gaara wheeled around quickly, his blush deepening. "I'm sorry Gaara, but I need to speak to you. I believe I own you an apology."

Temari stood up as well, her facial expressions becoming cross with irritation. "Damn straight you do!"

"Leave us, Temari," instructed Gaara, his impassive tone denying his obvious anxiety.

"But I work he-"

"I said leave," hissed Gaara, his normal deadly demeanor returning. Temari scowled and scampered off to the hallway. Sakura blushed slightly at his display of dominance. She was rather lucky that he didn't treat her in that manner anymore. "I believe you owe me an apology?"

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"YOU STILL SHOULD have told me that you guys _enjoy _killing people in your free time," snapped Fae, digging her fingernails into Kiba's arm when he tried to rest a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I was almost considering trusting you and then you spring this-"

"But I told you, didn't I? No one else was going to—they'd completely forgotten. I'm sorry I didn't think to do it sooner, but come on! I'm _obviously _not a huge fan of the whole forethought thing! I didn't mean to upset you but... I just... I told you now, didn't I?" pleaded Kiba, his eyes widening in misery. He had wanted her to be pleased that he had shared something so monumental, not homicidal for him not having shared it earlier. "If I had told before I was allowed... it would have only been bad. For both of us."

Fae paused for a moment, her dusky blue eyes darted left and right as she considered his words. Resolutely, she lifted her head to glare at him, though her eyes held little resolve. "You still should have told me."

"Would it help if I told you something else?" he mumbled , averting his eyes. His cheeks were tinted red beneath the designs on his cheeks.

Fae hummed slightly, and then nodded. "Maybe..."

"I didn't want these..." he murmured, pressing the forefingers of both hands to the triangles on his cheeks. "When I was little they held me down and tattooed them on. But I belonged, and it was okay after that. I just... I want to belong to a part of something again. I want someone to belong to me and me to them..."

"You are so odd, Kiba," she mused, tracing the lines of the tattoos with her thumbs. Kiba reddened and looked away, taking her words as rejection. She frowned slightly, realizing his misinterpretation. "Perhaps this is why I like you," she whispered, pressing her lips tentatively against his. When he closed his lips and moaned slightly, she pulled away, sheepishly. "Uhm..."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, pressing his hands to his mouth. He felt like he was going to vomit. Quickly, he spun on heel and stormed out of her room.

"Wait-" Fae frowned when he slammed her door shut. It was too late. If she listened hard enough she could hear the sound of wretching, but she didn't want to think about that. Hesitantly, she breathed into her hand to see if he breath stank. Finding her results inconclusive, she sunk onto Sakura's bunk dejectedly. Why did this always happen?

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"GAARA, I STILL love you... I was just upset that I was stuck here. I don't really feel like I'm stuck with you at all," she murmured. Why was it so hard to apologize to him? Normally she had no problems apologizing when she knew she was in the wrong. Perhaps she was having problems because she knew just how deeply she'd hurt him. "I'm so sorry..."

Surprisingly, Gaara simply wrapped his arms around her, hugging her to him. She rested her head against his chest, her hands tentatively pressed to him. When he rested his chin on her head, sakura felt the strong urge to cry in bitter self-loathing at the way she'd treated him. How could she have done that to him when all he did was love her?

"I'm sorry, I really shouldn't have-"

"Just don't do it again," he whispered, the strain in his voice evident. "I understand if I make you angry, but please never say that you don't love me. For us to last forever is probably unlikely, but if you should ever stop loving me... that would be worse than not being with you. You are the first and quite honestly the only. I can never feel this way for someone else because I have never felt this way before." His words were strangely heavy, falling onto her in such a way that she suddenly felt very tired and comfortable leaning against him. It was a good heavy, though. It was a weighted meaning.

Sakura pressed her lips against his without warning, coaxing a long, searching kiss from him. Gaara's hands slid from their position of being wrapped around her to gently roaming down her sides. The sensation tickled and made her body feel warm and tingly.

Sakura allowed her hands to roam in the same manner, one traveling to his read to goose him. Gaara's eyes popped open and he separated himself from her, his cheeks reddening sheepishly. Sakura's eyes sparkled mischievously, even as he tugged on her hand.

"Come on, I need to formally introduce you to my sister, Temari," he mumbled, his blush extending to the point that the tips of his ears were turning pink. How charming.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

NARUTO HEARD WATCHED as Kiba stalked out of Fae's room, through the living room where he, Sasuke, and Shikamaru were camped out on the couch.

"Man, at this rate, he'll never get laid," Shikamaru chuckled. Naruto cast him a casual glance. He lifted an eyebrow before he began to speak.

"What makes you say that?"

Shikamaru lamely rubbed the back of his neck. "Cuz _I_ haven't gotten laid in forever. Man. Overdosing is more trouble than it's worth... it's like I'm a lepper and the ladies don't want anything to do with my dick..."

"I can more than help you there-" began Sasuke. He broke off into giggles when Shikamaru gave him a blank, pointed look that oozed sarcasm. 'Haha,' it said. 'You're so funny, I could just die.' it said.

"Oi! Keep it in your pants, you sexy slut!" snapped Naruto, swatting his lover's crotch. Sasuke rolled his eyes laughing. "Sexy, am I? I knew you thought I was sexy."

"Come on, you too, keep the PDA to a minimal, would ya? I happen to like the pussy," drawled Shikamaru. "Not _your _troublesome tools."

Naruto and Sasuke couldn't help but grin like fools.

**Author's note: More to come, more to come. Things are progressing, I promise. Leave me a review, I truly love it when you do. **

**Are you any of you interested in seeing the reactions of each person when they first came to the Institution? I find myself inspire by tonights episode of American Horror story. LET ME KNOW PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.**

**Mellokai. Loveeeee. **


	38. Mother Should I Build a Wall?

**Author's Note; Just letting you all know we've breaching the 200,000 word limit! Thanks for sticking with me for so long, you guys! :] **

KANKURO SHIFTED UNCOMFORTABLY, unsure of just what he was supposed to say to his younger brother. Sasori was standing in the corner, glaring at the wall. The fact that the sock-puppet was still on his hand slightly ruined the effectiveness of his posture, but it still bothered Kankuro nonetheless. It was beginning to disturb his brown-haired counterpart in ways that he could not even describe. He was reminded so much of Gaara's solitary behavior in their youth that he was unable to stop the mental flashback of a time he and Gaara had been sent to their room for something Gaara had inadvertently caused. Gaara had stuffed himself into an old trunk and refused to come out.

"Look, Sasori... I know it isn't your fault but-"

"Shouldn't you be using your puppet?" mused Sasori, still not turning around. Kankuro could hear the smile in his voice. "We do want to get better after all, don't we?"

"Hn," agreed Kankuro, his voice rumbling with equal amusement. Could it really be this easy? No, probably not—not with what he had to say. "I resent you, you know."

That did the trick.

Sasori slowly twisted around; his feet remaining planted as his torso curled back upon itself, allowing Sasori to stare at Kankuro incredulously. "But why? I haven't done anything to you!"

"You had what I always wanted! You had a mother and a father..." Kankuro looked away, anxiety clawing at the edges of his voice. "You had a childhood!"

Sasori scoffed, yanking the ridiculous sock-puppet from his hand. "I had anything but a childhood, Kankuro. Every time I even _started _to make friends, mother forced us to move. Forced me to go to a different school where yet again I had to start over. She was never happy with me. She only wanted her precious _Gaara._" He spat out the word in such disgust that it sounded like a swearword. Kankuro tilted his head to the side, understanding the hostility. As much as he loved Gaara, it seemed the younger man had a habit of attracting people who truly cared for him even though he didn't realize it. "Do you know what it's like to be shown up on a daily basis by someone you haven't ever met? All she ever talked about... Gaara this. Gaara that... I wasn't good enough because I wasn't him."

Kankuro frowned, finally understanding at least on a slight level what Sasori wanted. He just wanted to be recognized. Validated. He wanted to know that his existence meant something.

"Sasori, I... I don't do the whole... speech thing, or whatever the hell it's called when people pour their heart out to each other. But I can at least try to be a better brother. I just... I don't know how. I can't trust you; not because of who you are. I just don't trust anyone except for Gaara and Kai. It kills me that she doesn't trust me anymore and... I think you were there when I should have been and I couldn't stand it."

"Maybe... Truce?" Sasori extended his bloody hand. Kankuro eyed it for a moment with a wry smile stretched across his lips. His looked just as bad, he presumed. Pulling his hand free of the now mangled puppet, he slipped his own bruised and bleeding hand into his brother's still-puppet-covered hand.

"Guess she can't say we didn't use our puppets."

Even Kiba, who was in his own bedroom sulking, could hear Sasori's loud guffaws of laughter.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

TSUNADE HUMMED LIGHTLY as she did her work, her arm roving back and forth as the finger clutched in her grasp scribbled words across the documents that lay before her at a breakneck pace. Being chief psychologist of this wing of the Institution did not come without its own less attractive duties, paperwork being a very large and time consuming portion of the less attractive duties.

She reread the notes that she'd written down for the latest transfer to one of the wings Deidara taught. He'd complained that his groups were uneven and his students were beginning to be irritated by the uneven numbers. Such a worthless excuse for a change, but she had agreed to it nonetheless. Tsunade knew that such simple things could derail even the most promising case.

The loud blaring of the phone on her desk jarred her from her analysis. She didn't hesitate to heft the clunky, outdated receiver out of its cradle and pressed it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hi, Tsunade, it's Kaze..."

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SHIKAMARU IGNORED KIBA'S sniffles as he meandered through his room, his fingers lazily caressing old belongings, some that he had forgotten, others that he had willfully ignored. He knew he had no right to still be here, not with the way things were. He was not a stupid man. Rather the opposite, in fact. Shikamaru was a certified genius.

He was dead. It had been an unavoidable realization. He'd tried to put off his acknowledgement of it for as long as he possibly could, but the logic, which a sane person would call insane, made perfect sense to him. The conclusion had been inevitable. Shikamaru was well aware that Gaara knew by now. Gaara was, after all, the smartest person he knew, besides himself. Sasori and Kankuro, though not quite on Gaara's level, were not stupid either. He was surprised Kankuro hadn't caught on, but he'd been through quite the ringer lately. Not that it wasn't self-inflicted. Perhaps he didn't want to know.

Had he not already been dead, it would have killed him to see his parent's faces when they came to see his body. They'd looked so distraught... his mother had sobbed so hard she couldn't stand on her own two feet, forcing Shikaku to hold her up as they both stared at the pallid face that stared up at them from the cold slab. It hurt to know that it was his own and that he had finally gotten his wish but it wasn't at all what he wanted. It hurt worse to not be able to tell them_ why_or to tell them he loved them again. Shikamaru longed to see her and his father again, but it simply wasn't possible. He was stuck here at the Institution.

Tried as he might, he couldn't leave the grounds.

Kiba's eyes were warm on Shikamaru's neck as the dark-haired reverently lifted the book that Yoshina mother had brought him a long time ago. Chouji's mom had written it; it seemed so long ago that he had been screwing around with his friends. Part of him wanted to deny that it had ever even happened. It hurt a lot less to think about himself as having never been anywhere than here.

Kiba was hurting now, but that was a luxury. Shikamaru knew that he'd never know love again. Not truly. Sex was out of the question, which was really quite a bother. He enjoyed that as much as the next guy.

That wasn't to say he was a total horn-ball. There was a certain closeness that he felt with a girl curled up in his arms, the feelings of post-coital bliss still petering out. It was almost as good as drugs. Drugs didn't work for him anymore.

He was a spirit. Ingesting them was more often than not a strange thing indeed. He was a swirling mass of energy. He could dissolve them. His entire body would feel strange for a few moments. And then it would be nothing.

There was nothing more frustrating than understanding your current situation when all of your life infinite knowledge was only a fingertip away. Shikamaru had grown accustomed to reading things once and knowing them. However, he hadn't read anything about this. Ever. And he had yet to find anything on it either.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

THE NIGHT CAME and the night went. When the sun rose, it left no trace of the moon, rejecting its traitorous lover and flinging out its luggage as its own orange tendrils of light crept across the horizon.

This Gaara watched from the lawn of the Institute. Granted, he was forced to go outside onto the small portion of lawn that was always accessible, mostly due to the huge walls that surrounded the small patch of yard.

He'd taken the liberty of scaling said wall; he now sat perched high atop the lawn, his knees pulled up to his chest as he viewed the sunset. It was incredibly snowy and cold out but he'd managed to make it up. Gaara surprised even himself with his sheer determination sometimes.

Tsunade surprised him sometimes as well. With a soft call from the doorway and a somber expression, she called him to her. Wordlessly, he slithered down from the wall. Perhaps this was just as well. His body was beginning to go numb.

Gaara was surprised when Tsunade did not chide him for forgetting a coat. He was even more surprised to see Kankuro and Sasori lingering just behind her in the hallway of the building. With suspicious eyes, he regarded Tsunade, silently inquiring as to what had happened. Her lips tightened as she beckoned for him to hurry up. Gaara realized that he had slowed to a halt and ground his teeth in annoyance as he ambled forward.

"You have a visitor," she said in short, clipped tones.

Gaara faltered again; Tsunade stopped when her acute sense of hearing picked up the lack of additional footfalls.

"Come on, it's important." Tsunade wrapped a light hand around the inside crook of his elbow, gently guiding him. Her words were harsh, but her tough was feathery and impartial.

"Are you mad at me?" he wondered, his eyes narrowing in concern. Tsunade's head whipped around to look at him in surprise.

"No!" She said that a little too quickly. Gaara shrank from her grasp, staring at her in confusion. "Gaara, I'm not mad at you! I'm just agitated with someone else is all..."

It sounded honest enough, but she didn't endeavor to touch him again. Gaara shifted uncomfortably; Kankuro gave him a worried look that he truly didn't like. Sasori's tentative smile felt foreign. He acknowledged the taller boy with a swift dip of his chin, but that was all. Sasori's smile widened fractionally.

The smile crumbled like the ashes of a burnt paper when Tsunade opened the door of the visiting room. These rooms were reserved for more intimate, scheduled meetings. Seated at the table inside the room was his mother, her hands clasped in front of her in a bizarrely gentle manner.

Father wasn't there. Sasori sourly wished he was, because without him, this wasn't going to be pretty. His father, while not the perfect role model, was the one who had kept his mom from killing him in the past. He remembered all of the vicious beatings, each and every one of them. Not that he'd ever willingly divulge that information; it was shameful for him to have been beaten by a woman and unable to defend himself.

"Tsunade, I-"

"She insisted, Sasori. It's not every day you get to meet your long-lost sons!" Tsunade rushed, her bright smile seeming just a little bit too strained. She splayed her arm wide, indicating that they needed to take a seat. Sasori glared at her, but she didn't acknowledge the look.

"No, no, let me see them!" demanded the woman, pushing her brown hair off of her shoulders. She was graying at the temples and had light wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and the junction of her nose and cheek. Gaara thought she had a nice face.

Gaara and Kankuro slouched slightly, but Sasori stiffened until he stood straight and tall. It was a forced habit. Gaara gave him a curious look, but Sasori didn't speak.

The strange woman pressed her hands against Gaara's cheeks, cupping his face affectionately. Gaara flinched, unused to such unprovoked contact. Her expression darkened, but only slightly. Tsunade bowed out of the room, mumbling something about giving them a minute.

The door closed, and the woman tweaked his earlobe. "Stand up straight, Gaara, you slouch like a slug."

Gaara withdrew from her grasp, his eyes narrowing in confusion. When she smiled brightly, he looked away. Sasori was trying to catch his gaze, but he didn't want to be caught.

She bypassed Kankuro completely, moving to Sasori. "Ah, I see you still remember... good boy. But, I must ask. What the hell is _this_?"

With a swift yank, she pulled the sock-puppet free from his hand. "Puppets, hmm?"

Sasori blanched immediately and his eyes darted to the door. His desire to flee did not go unnoticed by Gaara. Gaara's stomach began to churn as he realized that something was not quite right with his mother. Her face didn't look so pretty anymore.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

KIBA'S BRAIN HURT just from thinking of how he had watched as Shikamaru wandered around the room, fingering some objects and staring at others in such a longing way that it had begun to deeply bother him. He'd never seen Shikamaru acting so openly thoughtful; he'd usually reserve that kind of thinking when he was pretending to sleep.

As they sat sprawled out on the couch, watching cartoons as approved by Tsunade, he couldn't help but wonder what the mysterious boy had been so thoughtful about. He was obviously still thinking pretty heavily about whatever was on his mind because instead of his usual bottle-brushy ponytail that resembled a pineapple, his hair was hanging around his face in wavy tumbles.

"Hey, Shika?" he asked softly, not wanting to pry into the boy's mind if he wasn't willing to share. He didn't think Shikamaru would open up, but he wanted him to know that he'd be there for him.

"Hn?" Shikamaru grunted, not lifting his gaze from the television. He was back to his normal self, if not absurdly focused on the boring program.

Kiba twiddled his thumbs, scratched the back of his neck, and rubbed his nose. God, he felt awkward. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah."

"... Are you sure?"

Shikamaru turned to stare at him with a lazy glare, his eyes only half open. "I'm _fine_, okay?"

Kiba nodded slowly, feeling very sorry that he'd asked.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

TSUNADE PLOPPED DOWN into the chair behind the glass, her self-pity reaching an all-time high. This was why you didn't get close to your patients. They had family, after all. Granted, that family had no busy ever seeing them again, but they were still the family, not her. That hadn't stopped her, though.

She felt like some sick version of a pedophile. She latched onto these young men, to fulfill her own need of being a mother even though she abhorred the thought of carrying a child within her womb for nine months. She truly cared about their well-being, though; that had to mean something, right?

She flicked the light on so that she could see through the two-sided glass, knowing that she was fully within her rights to supervise the conversation. It was protocol.

When she saw that Gaara had shrunk away from his mother, Kankuro was looking particularly dejected, and Sasori was on the receiving end of his mother's words—she couldn't see Karura's face, as her back was turned to the glass—and he didn't look particularly happy at all.

Her stomach churned shamefully as she pressed the small button that allowed her to listen in on their conversation. She would either go to hell for this or be relieved that she was listening in on them.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"YOU'VE BECOME A puppet, Sasori," she hissed, poking a sharp, pointy nail into his side. Sasori remembered wistfully of how his father recounted her as being a perfect, loving mother before her other children were stolen. He'd just gotten the bad luck of the draw.

He was ashamed that he had the least palpable grip on reality when he had at least had someone normal and loving to guide him through life. Gaara's and Kankuro's 'father' had been a terrible man, from what he could gather from Gaara's response. Kankuro had obviously hated him more than Gaara, even though he refused to talk about it.

"But," she mused, turning to Kankuro, "at least you are still tall. You're fat compared to them, but-"

"What? This is muscle!" he protested, motioning to lift his shirt. Her calm gaze halted him, though.

"I was joking, geez."

"Oh..."

'_Yes, her sense of humor is not the greatest..._' thought Sasori, trying to prevent his gaze from hardening over with hatred. He knew Tsunade had to be watching.

"But, you look so much like your father..." she smiled softly, running a thumb across his cheek. Kankuro turned away from her touch, looking as though he felt sick. "I'm sorry if I keep touching you, I just can't believe you're real... They've kept you from me so long..."

"Who?" demanded Gaara, his voice low and growling. Sasori repressed an amused smile. Someone wasn't happy.

"Mom, it was not those stupid things in your head!" snapped Sasori, folding his arms angrily across his chest. "She's schizophrenic... She thinks there's a conspiracy where a bunch of people came together to keep you from her, but it was just her brother.

"Don't tell them that! They'll think I'm nuts!" she snarled, spinning around to face her son. "How dare you! I have waited sixteen years for this!"

Sasori growled deep in his throat. "You _are _nuts."

His mother gave him as scathing look before turning back to Gaara. "You are so thin... don't they feed you at this place?"

"Yes," Gaara said stiffly, uncomfortable with her criticizing gaze. His chest was beginning to hurt.

"Hn. I can't believe Tsunade let you get so thin... she told me you were getting better. She wouldn't let me see you for a long time, you know. I called her last night and had to beg to get in to see you." Karura studied his face for a change, making a small sound of perplexity when she saw none.

Inside, Gaara was boiling. Tsunade had kept this from him? Granted, he wasn't having the time of his life, but she shouldn't have kept him from his mother. He'd never met her, at least not that he recalled. Who would deny someone that right?

Kankuro shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He'd been oddly quiet after her insult. The whole meeting was just bizarre. He'd not imagined it to go smoothly, but this was frankly ridiculous.

"So, what do you guys enjoy doing?" she inquired brightly, sitting down on top of the table. Normally that was frowned upon, but they were all alone so it didn't matter.

"Err..." Kankuro didn't know what to say. "There's not that much to do here."

"Oh come on, I've been in one of these places! Took a while to get out, but there's loads of stuff to do here!" she chirped. There was a strange undercurrent to her voice.

"Oh... well, I like hanging out, I guess..." he mumbled, unsure of what else to say. He didn't like her. She looked too much like his 'father.'

"Ah... you have friends?"

Kankuro nodded, scraping his thumb-nail against his faded jeans. It was rather cold in here. His hand felt cold without the puppet securely covering it. He kind of missed the hideous lump of material.

He looked up when his mother's hand rested on his shoulder. It was strange to sit down and have a short little woman appear taller than him. "Friends are bad, sweetie. They make you do things you don't want to do."

She saw a spark of confusion in his eyes and then saw the wheels in his mind begin to churn. "I never let Sasori have any if I could help it. God forbid... one day he came home and asked me if he could go to the park and play tag. They were going to tag him and-"

"_Stop it!"_snapped Sasori. "I'm getting Tsunade, this is ridiculous. I don't know why you came."

"Not for _you_," she pointed out. Sasori paused, his shoulders heaving up and down as he glared at her. His hands were around her neck before Gaara could even protest.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

FAE SMILED TO herself as Naruto's hands roamed the canvas in front of him, applying paint here and there. She and Sasuke were posing for Naruto; the two of them sat at a table in the cafeteria that Naruto had decorated to look like a breakfast table, posing as a husband and wife. When Naruto asked her to throw a little more emotion into it—her jaws had been getting tired—she pouted and moaned. Naruto snickered.

"Not that much, geez. We don't need the orderlies accusing us of having a public orgy. I know Sasuke's irresistible, but, hookah he is _mine_." Naruto winked to show he was just being cheeky. He sighed as he set down his paintbrush. "This isn't right... move your leg. Your ass looks flat. Ah! Perfect, there we go. Now ya got a nice curve..."

Fae blushed at the casual comment. She wasn't used to people being objective about her body, and she especially wasn't used to negative comments. Did she really have a flat ass?

"Your ass is fine," intoned Sasuke, his voice deep and slow like molasses. "That moron is just openly idiotic." His expression didn't change much, but she felt like it was a smile. It was odd; she hadn't known that such an apathetically amused emotion could even exist.

"Naruto, have you ever... wanted to trust someone and then you found out things that made you not want to trust them?" she inquired, trying to school her facial expression and voice so that she sounded steady and neutral.

Naruto shrugged as he painted. He bit his tongue in concentration as he painted for another moment before answering. "Yeah. All the time, but then I figure... I'm already broken. They can't really hurt me anymore. Though, I don't trust anyone I will hurt my precious people. That's my logic when making new friends."

Sasuke frowned, averting his eyes. He wanted to look away but he couldn't move his head or Naruto's painting would be messed up. It hurt him to hear Naruto say something like that. He loved Naruto. He didn't know if he was in love, but Naruto was important to him and for him to just write himself off so easily made him angry. The anger subsided and he felt a little bit sad that Naruto didn't feel for himself what he was always pointing out in everyone else.

Sasuke exhaled slowly, completely baffled by his emotions. He'd never worried about someone else like this, save for his family. He resolved to work it out in his mind before he did anything. Perhaps these feelings were just a bizarre fluke.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

TSUNADE DIDN'T ALLOW for Sasori to strange Karura longer than a few seconds. As much as she despised the woman and wanted to strangle her as well, she couldn't allow Sasori to kill her. She'd catapulted out of the room on the other side of the glass, through the few feet of the hallway, and into the room where Karura was being choked in less than thirty seconds. Anymore and Sasori might accomplish his goal.

She gently put her hands on Sasori's shoulders, quickly pulling him away from the small woman. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself."

"How can you choke your own mother, Sasori?" painted the brown-haired woman, indignantly.

"I was referring to _you_," Tsunade pointed out coldly. "You've ruined his childhood. I won't allow you to ruin their lives as well. I allowed you to come here as a favor to your husband, nothing more. He said you were better, but I can see that he overestimated you.

Karura snatched her coat off of the back of one of the metal chairs, pausing in front of Tsunade to glare at her in disdain. Her children were now intangible, torn from her grasp. "You know _nothing _of his childhood. I'm sure he's lied to you just as they lied to me. I told him those people who get to him... It looks as though they already have. And you! You're just as bad! I'm sure my son will enjoy remaining here with you."

"Are we not your precious children anymore?" snarled Kankuro, his face contorting in a mask of indifference that Tsunade knew was a farce.

Karura paused, her face thoughtful. "You are my blood, but you are not my children. You're already grown. They've already gotten to you. Changed you... You can't be mine. You don't even belong to yourself." Her gaze turned to Tsunade, so filled with hate that Sasori was almost scared of her again. Almost. "_You _should be ashamed of yourself. Stealing my children for yourself just because you can't have any... You're the worst kind of criminal because you think what you're doing is right."

She spit in Tsunade's face. First metaphorically and then literally. Tsunade flinched as the glob of spittle found its way into her eye, immediately bringing her hands to her face to clear the disgusting fluids away.

Gaara was on her before any of them could stop him, not that they would care to. He angrily slapped her, the back of his hand connecting to her cheek with a loud snapping sound before the two parted ways. She was sent stumbling backwards, her accusing eyes focused on Tsunade's the whole while. Tsunade didn't reprimand him or acknowledge what he had just done; he stalked out of the room too quickly for her to do either. She'd much rather go talk to him, but she was forced to help Karura off of the floor. This was the _last _thing she wanted to be doing.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SAKURA WONDERED WHAT it was like having Temari as a sister. She was a lot nicer than she remembered Gaara recalling her. She supposed that had come with growth, though. As of late she'd been rethinking her past as well.

Thinking of Temari had inevitably brought up thoughts of her own sister, Ino. It had taken her a long time to come to terms with Ino's death. The hardest part had been recognizing that it was her fault. So much emotion had been boiling up for years that she'd just snapped.

Perhaps with the two men before Sai, they had been misunderstandings... She'd never really gotten any solid proof other than hearsay, but Ino and Sai had definitely been fucking when she'd walked in on them. Sai _was _a good guy, but, maybe she should have had sex with him more. She banished that thought, recognizing it as immature and ridiculous.

There were drawbacks to everyone. She had to admit that. No one was perfect. Ino definitely hadn't been, neither was Sai, neither was Gaara, nor was she. Perhaps this had all been for the best. She'd never have met Gaara otherwise.

It felt strange to her that she was at the lowest point of her life but also both the happiest and most miserable she'd ever been. Life was strange.

Sakura rolled out of her bed, resolving to get a shower. She needed to cleanse herself both physically and spiritually. Maybe Ino had been right about one thing: Slavishly pouring over memories of the past helped no one, least of all yourself, especially if they were bad memories.

She cried bitterly as she scrubbed herself clean. Ino had been the one who always understood her. She'd never truly understood Ino, but she hadn't ever tried to, either. Was she really so selfish?

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

GAARA DIDN'T WANT to be found. He'd return inside when he was ready, but at the moment he wasn't ready. The sky was still cloudy, but the air was crisp and he enjoyed the smell of winter. He enjoyed the smells of spring and fall the most, but most often he wasn't allowed out then. For some reason or another he managed to get put into solitary. This year had been different for the most part.

He couldn't help but feel like he was crumbling on the inside. All of his foundations on which he had based his perceptions of life were viciously crumbling around him. It wasn't fair, but he was all too well acquainted with the realization that life had never been fair and never would be.

Gaara paced back and forth upon a strip of high wall, stepped automatically over the icy portions that threatened to fell him. They were idle thoughts and they came unbidden, but he didn't attempt to banish them. For once he wanted to stew in his misery and sort things out.

Perhaps it would have been different if he'd been with his mother all of his life. Perhaps she wouldn't have lost her mind. A newfound respect for Sasori had registered in his mind, but he pushed it to the backburner, deeming it as momentarily nonessential.

Gaara's mind was categorized by means of a mental-filing cabinet in a mental-construct. He supposed it was a palace of sorts, but it served its purpose. In his building there were many rooms. The living room contained basic living information. How to bathe. How to sit in chair. What positions were most comfortable for him.

The bathroom and the kitchen bore self-explanatory information, but the rest of the rooms were up for grabs. He had three rooms dedicated to information pertaining to the bedroom. One room held memories of nightmares, his father's room, and his childhood fears. It looked like his bedroom as a child. He hated that room and avoided it at all costs.

The other bedroom housed information about his regular sleeping habits. What position was most comfortable to sleep in, what ways he couldn't sleep, the way he lay when he simply _couldn't_ sleep, and even the way he had to make his bed to be able to sleep most comfortable. So many things of that nature were crammed into that room, even his old, tattered bear "Ai." It resembled his current room.

The final room possessed his sexual knowledge. This room was clear. Nothing had color, save for a few things. The dressers beside the bed held anything he could ever need to know to screw a woman senseless. In the bedside table was where he kept his good dreams and his favorable memories of a bedroom. Everything in this room, save for the bedside table, the bed-spread, and the pillows were clear. The bedside table was feint sea-foam green and the bedspread was emerald green. He had a small, heart-shaped pillow that was the color of pink cotton candy. The pillow was tiny, only six-inches by six-inches, but it served its purpose. He didn't spend much time in here. He hardly ever had a reason to be in here. Not much good happened to him.

Usually when bad things happened to him, he was more inclined to travel to the bathroom and mentally floated in cold water, contemplating drowning himself. This time, though, he found himself in the first bedroom, contemplating memories of horrors past. It was still terrifying, but the cold environment of outdoors called upon him occasionally if he needed to suddenly flee and abort the memories.

A sudden rush of air chilled him to the bone and yanked him from his mental construct and he found himself sailing through the air. The sensation of falling was heavy upon him as he realized he was careening toward the ground at a breakneck pace.

He landed with a low crunching thud. '_Shit._'

The simple thought summed up his situation as he sat up, assessing the pain in his hand as a break. He assumed he was lucky, considering he'd fallen at least twenty feet or so. With a soft grunt he brought himself to his feet, intent on returning inside to get warm and have Tsunade take care of his hand. He turned in the direction he thought would lead him to the door, only to find the visage of wilderness staring back at him.

'_Shit.' _

He was on the other side of the wall, effectively barricaded from the Institution. Under any other circumstances, he'd have been delighted. Under these circumstances, though? It could kill him.

**Author's Note:OH NO. Hahaha. :] Let me know what you think. **

**Plans are coming into effect, yeah! :D I can't wait to get this story rounded up so I can resume Hatake Naruto and begin the sequel to this. I promise it will be SO much better than this one. This one didn't have a clear plot set up for it, but the next one shall. It will have a plot, a better direction, and better character development and interaction. :] **

**With my Destiny and Aurora helping me, that story is going to be awesome. I promise. I owe them huge thanks, haha. :] You guys oughta give em a round of applause. **

**Also, I apologize if this chapter is too... melodramatic. I'm so sorry if it's over the top, but dammit. It was just necessary. I had to—I'm so sick of everyone being sad about being single or whatever. I promise in the sequel, there will be more social drama versus oh god you bastard you looked at her tits or awww fuck nobody will have sex with me! **

**Anywho. Tata til next time. :] Enjoy, review, and keep reading! Love you all! :] **

**Mellokai/Lauren**


	39. Flickers

AN AWKWARD SILENCE permeated the confined quarters of Tsunade's office as Kakashi and Sasori anxiously waited for her to return with Gaara. After their fiery haired brother had stomped off, no doubt to resume his position on the high-wall as he used to when he was younger, Tsunade had taken the time to make sure Karura left before she went to find Gaara. That it was taking her so long wasn't making Kankuro nervous in the slightest; Gaara was a job to hunt down when he wanted to remain hidden.

The silence dwindled to an end as Sasori uncomfortably cleared his throat, leaning back in his chair with manufactured ease. "I don't believe we've been entirely honest with each other..."

Kankuro didn't answer, instead watching as Sasori toyed with the sock-puppet in his hands, turning it over and over before inserting his much-too-large hand into the restrictive material. His gaze dropped to the puppet sitting on Tsunade's desk. His puppet. His hand itched to put it on, but he knew that would be a sign of weakness. He couldn't touch it. He couldnt' be weak...

"Kankuro, I hate her. I wasn't part of planning this. I shouldn't have let us see her... I knew it would be terrible. Tsunade... she didn't want us to see her. At first I did, though. I thought maybe if you could just _see _what I went through for those years... it'd be different with us. You'd know I'm not different."

"The fuck you're not different from me," growled Kankuro, his fingers longing to inflict damage upon his naiive-seeming brother. "I could tell you all about it and how you had it so much better, but _men _don't do that. Men don't whine, do they?" A ripple coursed through him as he was lost in thought. He muttered to himself, "Men can fix what's broken. They don't let it remain so for such a long time..."

"What makes you so different from me?" demanded Sasori, a keening edge of despair and want piercing Kankuro's ears. He wanted so badly to relent and just tell him, to share his secret. But he couldn't...

"You wouldn't understand." Kankuro turned away from the duo that mocked him. A puppet and a puppeteer. Was he even controlling his own actions right now? He thought he was, but his grip on the situation was tenuous at best. He was used to pulling strings, but now they were slipping out of his grasp and he was tumbling out of the air, with ground approaching quickly.

"Why not? You haven't even given me a chance to. I am a good listener... just _try_ me, dammit! For fuck's sake do you have any idea how it is to be _so_ alone?" Kankuro shyly looked up, meeting his brother's eyes even though he knew he didn't want to.

"Of course."

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

LOVELY. JUST FUCKING lovely. Snow, a broken arm, cold feet, and a runny nose that just wouldn't quit. Could this situation get any worse?

'_You could be naked.' _A voice in the back of his mind reminded him. Gaara smirked slightly, realizing that he was imagining what Sakura would say. She'd have no problem if he was naked. He wondered if he and she were out here, and if he were naked, if she'd jump his bones. Probably.

Brushing off the idea, he tried to refocus himself. It was much too cold out here for him to be pussy-footing around trying to avoid the snowdrifts encrusted with thin ice-crystals where snow had melted and refrozen.

Silently berating himself for falling off the wall in the first place, he picked his way back to the gate as carefully as he could. The aching in his arm had taken on a dull drone that throbbed with each pulse of his heart. A gentle smile gripped his lips; it was refreshing to think of himself as having a heart. Especially when, all of his life, he'd thought of himself as being heartless and unlovable to have been treated in such fashions as he always was. Now it seemed his mother didn't even want him, either.

Gaara couldn't help but scowl when he made it to the gate that led to the short drive-way which ended at the front doors of the Institution. It was locked, naturally. What had he done wrong to piss off God, Karma, and fate all in one go? He wasn't sure which he believed in, if any, but it sure couldn't hurt to fantasize about something other than sheer dumb luck—or lack there of—that had landed him in such an unfortunate series of events on this most dreadful of days.

He shook the gates tentatively with his good hand, moaning brokenly when he realized it wouldn't open. He felt so cold... more than that, he felt more helpless than he could remember feeling in a long time. Gaara felt more helpless than he'd felt when he was being attacked by the disgusting apparitions, more helpless than when he'd found out his father wasn't his father... but not quite as vulnerable as he'd felt when he was a child.

Gaara gulped loudly and grasped the rails of the gate in both hands, repressing a frustrated sob as he tried to heave himself up onto the gate. Pain radiated outwards from his wrist, tingling and warm. It was warm where the world was so cold. He repressed an enraged howl when the pain spread up his arm as he pulled himself onto the gate. Pain was good. It had to be, because it meant he was still alive. He was smart enough to know that a broken arm was nothing compared to the dangers of hypothermia.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"OI, SHIKAMARU, SMILE a bit. If I didn't know better, I'd think the castration faerie paid you a visit and chopped off your happy bits," jibed Naruto, nudging Shikamaru in the ribs as he scooted past him. He'd returned from his painting session, Sasuke and Fae in tow with grimaces on their faces.

Shikamaru gave Naruto a lazy glare, but the look faded when he saw Naruto's canvas which was hardly concealed; much the opposite, actually. Naruto held it with both hands, close to his body, readily and proudly showing the lewd painting to the world.

Unbeknownst to Sasuke and Fae, at least the time of the painting, Naruto had secretly painted them naked. It was a talent of his, this painting business. He had a perverted eye for the human body and was quite capable of knowing _exactly _what someone looked like without clothing without ever having to see them naked.

"This perversion of yours is taking a troublesome turn, Uzumaki. IF I didn't know better, I'd begin to worry about you dedicating a series of paintings to my dick. I can see it now... 'Dickamaru's Big Day.'"

Naruto chortled at Shikamaru's unexpected humor and then sighed contentedly. "Are you high again, Shikamaru?"

"Not high enough, apparently," the dark-haired young man muttered with a heavy sigh. He looked started when Sasuke clapped him heavily on the back. "We'll share with you if you share with us."

Shikamaru deadpanned him, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "If this is one of those 'you-show-me-yours-and-I'll-show-you-mine-' kind of deals, count me out."

"Oh, come on! Just 'cuz he's gay and I swing both ways doesn't mean we're per-"

"No, Naruto. He's gay, you're bi, and you're _both _perverts." Shikamaru smirked at the expression on their faces. He turned to Fae, a sly smile spreading on his lips. "Don't let them fool you, Fae. They're sweet at first, but they're like horny little devils once you get to know them."

Fae chuckled darkly. "Oh, I know. I'm quite fond of their horny ways."

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"WHO WAS MY so-called father?" asked Kankuro, his gaze falling into his lap. He'd pulled his legs up onto his chair, digging his heels into the smooth leather so that they'd stay put. He was squashing his body in on itself, but the restricted position was oddly comfortable for him.

"Are you sure you want to know? We should wait til Gaara is here so you can-"

"Tell me _now._ I'm sick and fucking tired of knowing everything last, goddamit! I was the last to know when Temari started working here. I was last to know when you showed up. I was last to know that he's not my father. I want to know who he_ was._ I cannot keep doing this. I can't keep Gaara in one piece if I don't know what I'm dealing with!" Kankuro averted his eyes back to his lap, surprised that he didn't feel quite so ashamed to bare his feelings. Could he possibly have another who he didn't feel sick upon revealing emotion to?

"I... He's my—_your _uncle." Sasori's eyes pleaded for forgiveness. For what Kankuro wasn't sure. All he knew was that a chuckle was bubbling up within him.

He mused idly, wondering just how weird it was that he found it humorous. "I guess this means I have a funny uncle. Ha."

"What?"

"Oh... shit." Kankuro ground his teeth together. He might not have felt bad for the other emotions he'd shared with Sasori, but this wasn't something he wanted to share. His stomach lurched and he could taste the bile on the back of his tongue. It burned so viciously it brought tears to his eyes.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

GAARA WASN'T SURE if he'd ever been in this much pain before. He was relatively unaccustomed to the feeling of pain, truly. He was usually so doped up that he wasn't lucid enough to feel pain, or he was so doped up that he completely obliterated anyone who tried to get in his way before they could hurt him.

Icey-snow had cut through the skin of his legs. His arm was practically screaming from the pain he'd gone through in attempting to get over the gate. Such attempts had worked, no doubt, but at a cost. He was sitting in a disgruntled puddle of limbs and body at the foot of the gate.

He felt weak. His body was wracked with violent shivers ceaselessly. He couldn't even control them.

So lost in his own thoughts was he that he didn't even notice the gentle yet frantic hands that slipped around his shoulders, pulling him from the ground. The soft rustling of a whisper barely registered in his ears, though it was familiar and comfortable enough that he didn't feel threatened enough to protest.

Gaara blearily opened his eyes, almost unsurprised to see that it was Tsunade guiding him back inside. "How did you... find me?" Words were hard to form, as cold as he was. Shivers still jarred his near-emaciated frame.

"I just knew," whispered Tsunade, pausing to yank off her coat and force it onto his body. He absently wondered how strange he looked in womanswear. Before he could convince himself not to, he latched onto Tsunade, pulling her close enough that it would offend him if she'd made the motion without warning, then pulled her even closer. She was so warm...

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SAKURA SIGHED AS she toweled off. She sank onto her bed, feeling no more clean than she had before she set foot into the shower. Her body ached with unwarranted pains and her mind agonized over moments long gone.

She wondered if she'd ever see Gaara smile freely again. He hadn't been the same since he'd found out his father was not his father. She wondered just how screwed up he was inside. She easily dismissed the thought, realizing that it didn't really matter to her because she knew that deep-down she loved every fucked-up part of him simply because it was another piece of the puzzle that represented the enigma that was her lover.

Sakura sighed, picking up a photo of her and Sai that she'd shoved deep into her dresser a few weeks ago. She stood next to Sai in her dress, vibrant as she had ever been. She looked so happy. What an ironic thing, that she was so much more miserable looking and yet now she was so much more free.

"It should have been you..." she whispered, tears welling in her eyes. She sadly pressed a finger to Sai's cheek, wishing so strongly for all the could have beens and should have beens.

Not for her, no. For Ino. Ino could have been happy with that boy. She could have. She should have. Ino might have helped Sai betray her, but in reality, she'd been slipping from Sai. She'd bought the lingerie in an attempt to refresh their relationship. Had she been too blind to see that things were slipping back then?

Maybe Sai should have been the one that died. Not Ino. Why her? … The only one she'd had since birth was gone. Why did it hurt so much? Why now?

'_Perhaps the realization that things weren't what they seemed for Gaara sparked your own little epiphany, forehead.' _Sakura chuckled thickly at the sound of Ino's voice, heavy on her mind. She could starkly imagine Ino saying that to her.

"Yes, well, it's funny how I always have my epiphanies much too late to do me any good..." muttered Sakura, not bothering to stem that tears that streamed down her face.

'_Isn't it funny how I forgave you every single time, all the same?_' asked Ino. Sakura frowned slightly, wondering where that thought had come from. She was used to have conversations with herself, but never with her dead sister. She turned slightly to the sound of the voice, praying not to see anything. For a split second, she could have sworn she saw the outline of a girl. Then she blinked and it was gone.

"No, its funny how stupid I am. Tch. Shikamaru's the only ghost I hope to see... Because if I ever see you, I can imagine you'll find a way to kill me very slowly."

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"A pedophile?" Sasori's words sounded strangled and strange even to his own ears. Kankuro didn't meet his eyes, yet again. Sasori didn't mind; he'd have to hard a time thinking something to say while masking his fury. Not that he was doing an even sub-par job of it now.

"Yepp..." Kankuro snorted and chucked his puppet across the room, unable to stare at it any longer. It met the wall with an unsatisfying thunk before it fell to the floor in a mistreated, unloved heap. "Story of my life... literally."

"I'm sor-"

"I don't want your pity. So don't bother. Just stop acting like the little lost child because it makes me want to punch you in the face. I _know _you've got your own past, but fuck. I'm not aiming to get into a pissing contest, because we both dealt with completely different shit, but come on, dude... Don't tell anybody what I said. I will kill you so systematically and slowly you'll pray to God you were with my fath—_uncle._" Kankuro's eyes glowered menacingly at Sasori; he could only grit his teeth and not at the disturbingly large amount of words thrown at him and the inflection behind them. He didn't think he'd spoken this long with Kankuro … ever. It frightened him; Kankuro had a side to him just as dark as he or Gaara. Sasori had known he was a menace in his own right, but he'd only lately been getting to see the side of Kankuro that so many others had seen.

"Okay." Had they switched roles? Usually Sasori did all the talking...

Sasori was jarred from his mental monologue when Tsunade entered the room with a loud grunt, the simple clack of heels, and shaking hands.

"Come, now. Gaara's in trouble."

Kankuro and Sasori shot each other dark looks before they stood. This didn't sound good at all. Kankuro was mentally preparing for the worst, assuming that his brother had gone on a violent rampage and was now being sent to solitary or something along the lines of that nature. Perhaps they were going to inspect the damage he'd caused.

He couldn't have been more wrong.

**Author's Note: Yes, this is a good bit shorter than I would have liked. For that I apologize. However, please let me know what you think. :] I'm glad you guys are still reading, haha. Review, please! Reviews are like sex, candy, and that crazy endorphin rush after working out. They make my word go right round. :] **

**Much loveeeeeeeeee. **

**Does anybody else find it weird that I've gone from my lovely Indie music back to Marilyn Manson and Papa Roach? :P **


	40. Home Is Where the Heart Is

**Chapter Forty! I could NOT have made it this far without you guys! Especially WolfGoddessofSiberia (Destiney!) and Bleeding Autumn (Aurora). :] Y'all are the best. Also, shout out to child of darkness for sharing my thoughts on certain weird situations, rofl. xD **

SASORI AND KANKURO could only stare stupidly at their brother. Gaara lay on a hospital bed, covered with many thin sheets. On top of the thin, insubstantial hospital sheets was an electric blanket, turned to the lowest heat setting.

"What the Hell happened?" demanded Kankuro twisted around to see Tsunade's explanation, a pained expression distorting his features. He glanced back at his brother when Tsunade didn't answer him. She couldn't bring herself to give him bad news when he already looked so tortured.

"I... I found him just inside the front gates." Tsunade plucked up the courage to move closer. She lifted the plethora of blankets to show Gaara's freshly splinted arm. "He broke his arm. I think he fell climbing over the gate; he was in so much pain and he was so cold when I found him that I could barely hang onto him he was shaking so hard."

Sasori hummed slightly, sitting down on the edge of the bed. Gaara moaned slightly and he jumped back up, unsure of whether or not Gaara would want him to be sitting there. Gingerly, he sat down again. Gaara cracked open a groggy eye, but didn't move or make a sound otherwise.

"Look, Gaara... I'm sorry I made those jibes at you about not knowing your father. I'm sorry about everything... I just wanted the brother I've always heard—"

"Jesus, Sasori, I've got hypothermia—I'm not fucking dying. Not put your pussy back in your pants," grunted Gaara, trying to push himself into a sitting position. "You'd think I was about to receive an award with everybody coming to see me..."

Tsunade couldn't help but smile at her pseudo-son's unorthodox sense of humor. "You know, I think this is the first time I've ever heard you tell an out and out joke," she mused, folding her arms over her chest in a mock-accusing gesture.

"Yeah, well this is the first time I've ever been in enough pain for you to give me the _good _drugs," he groused, shooting her an equally jesting look.

"Actually, I've been weaning you off of your sedatives and I couldn't have them give you anything stronger than a few ibuprofen because you haven't had anything to eat in a while. You'd be puking up bile." Tsunade smirked at Gaara's surprised expression, knowing that she'd done something that he'd never be able to repay.

"Where's Sakura?" he muttered gruffly, opting to change the subject rather than try to be civil.

Tsunade made a small sound of decision as she tried to remember why they hadn't gotten her. "Slipped my mind. I'm getting old you know..."

"Yeah, yeah. Just get her, would you?"

Kankuro sighed loudly, lacing his hands behind his head. "I'll get her. I gotta go back anyway."

Tsunade didn't acknowledge the hurt look in Gaara's eyes, but she did nod in a cool manner. "Sasori, why don't you go with him? I need some dry clothes for Gaara. I doubt he's coming back, so..."

Sasori nodded, jogging after Kankuro was already stalking down the hallway. It seemed that he was in a worse mood than he'd previously anticipated. Lovely.

[.-_-.]

KANKURO GROWLED IMPATIENTLY as he waited for Sasori to catch up with him. Wasn't that fool supposed to have longer legs than him? Granted only by a few centimeters, but surely keeping pace shouldn't be so hard.

Kankuro was crumbling. He'd held it together when Gaara had fallen apart in lieu of information about their father. He'd held it together when he'd realized his mother was not the woman he'd thought she was and that this new woman who had birthed him was anything but fetching. He'd even held it together when both Sasori and Gaara tried to kill her. He'd manged with all of that. But now Gaara had hurt himself and everyone was fawning all over him. It was as if the past few hours hadn't even passed... Did no one even care about him and when _he _was hurt?

Upon reaching their wing, Kankuro shoved his way past a surprised Shikamaru, immediately moving to Kai's door. His fist rapidly beat out a heavy-handed tattoo. He missed the days when he could just barge in and she'd greet him with a smile. Being back at square one was most irksome at times like this. When she didn't answer, he edge the door open and peeked inside. Not there. Of course.

Anxiously he looked around, relieve to see her on the couch. Kiba sat next to her, shoveling handfuls of chips into his mouth. Kankuro barely registered his confusion as to the origins of the potato crisps, but shoved the thoughts from his mind, instead focusing on Kai. He made as to speak to her, then stopped, realizing she was asleep. Mentally he weighed the pros and cons of waking her up. Deciding that waking her was the lesser of two evils, he scooped her up and marched back to her room so they could have some privacy.

Sasori had come with him so he could get Sakura, who would no doubt want to see Gaara, which meant that talking to Kai in his room would probably be a bad idea. He didn't want Sasori barging in at the worst time, as he had a habit of doing.

Kai stirred in his arms, staring up at him confusion. To his relief, she didn't even complain. She only stared at him, her chocolate eyes wide with unconcealed confusion. "Wha... You doin'?"

Kankuro refused to look at her as he set her down on the lower bunk. Instinctively he crawled over her, laying behind her as he wrapped his arms around her. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to cuddle or prevent her from looking at him. Either way, he didn't care as long as she wasn't staring at him.

"Am I selfish?" he whispered, tucking his chin into the crooke of her neck and shoulder.

Kai was silent for a moment. "That depends... in what respect?"

_'Ouch... that's honest, I guess,'_ thought Kankuro. He sighed softly, willing the words to come out steadily. "With Gaara." '

"No. Not at all selfish. If the situation provided itself, I bet you'd give your own life to spare him his." she judged, attempting to roll over to look at him. His tight grip prevented her from doing so. She repressed a claustrophobic urge that threatened to grip her. "Why?"

"Long story..."

"You might as well start at the beginning then. It doesn't look as if I'm going anywhere," she pointed out, her voice lilting humorously. She pressed her lips to his arm, letting them linger a moment.

Kankuro plucked up his last few bits of courage and, despite his better judgment, he attempted to allow himself the chance to open up even further to yet another human being who might tear him apart from the inside out.

[.-_-.]

SASORI DID HIS best to ignore the rage that was attempting to swell in his gut. He'd seen Kankuro march into the living room after knocking on Kai's door. The way he'd snatched her up off of the couch... it was truly unnecessary. Sasori already knew that she was his. It didn't make him any happier to know that he'd been forgotten and pushed aside, but that Kankuro felt the need to drag her away from everyone else completely aggravated him. What if he had wanted someone to talk to?

Sakura's room was mere feet from Kai's. His keen ears strained to hear conversation as he knocked on Sakura's door. Her face appeared. He heard the squeak of the bed as someone—possibly both of them—moved across it. Sasori grimaced uncomfortably. "Tsunade and Gaara request your presence."

"Why didn't he come get me himself?" There was another squeak of the mattress and then a low sigh. _'Am I selfish_?'

Sasori sneered, looking away from her. "He's a little bit... indisposed." _'I bet you'd give your own life to spare him his._' Sasori growled slightly, unable to contain his rage. Sakura winced, unused to seeing such expressions on anyone but Gaara. Kankuro and Gaara had very similar expressions when they were angry but Sasori... he perfectly emulated the Gaara scowl. His scowl was much more... societal, though. Gaara was like a caged savage.

"Are you all right, Sasori?"

Sasori's snarl turned on her, but she was fully prepared for it and refused to shrink from his frightening expression. He realized that he was scowling and straightened immediately. "Yeah. I'm fine. Sorry... Can you get some clothes for him? I don't know where he even keeps his stuff... Or what he'd want."

Sakura paused, unsure of how to respond to his request. "What do you mean? … How exactly is he 'indisposed'?"

Sasori shifted his weight from foot to foot, anxiously. "Look, just come pick out some shit for him to wear and I'll explain to you on the way."

Sakura scowled, brushing past him in compliance to his offer. Sasori followed her, unsure of what exactly to do. He watched as she deftly pawed through Gaara's dresser sorting thrugh his limited amount of belongings.

"We visited my mom today... It didn't go well." He said in a casual tone, looking away as she brushed a strand of hair out of her face. She was still searching for Gaara's favorite black Pink-Floyd shirt. He'd want that one.

"How so?" she found the shirt and smiled. Sakura frowned when Sasori didn't answer her. "Well? Why not?"

Sasori grabbed a pair of jeans and she exhaled angrily, putting them back.

"Not those, he hates those. Now come on, tell me already !Is he okay?"

"Well after the meeting he took off and got stuck outside somehow. He's got mild hypothermia, but he's okay. He just needs to stay in the infirmary for a while..."

"That idiot... if he dies I don't know what I'll do with myself." Sakura carefully folded the shirt, Gaara's favorite genes, and rounded up her favorite pair of boxers for him and a pair of obnoxiously fuzzy socks from her room. "Where's Gaara's teddy? I know you were the one who took it.."

Sasori shifted uncomfortably, and then rolled his eyes in defeat. "Fine. I took it. But only because he-"

"I don't care two fucks from Sunday _why _you did it. Just get me the fucking teddy-bear before I chop your goddamn balls off!" she snapped, losing her patience. "Gaara is hurt and you're being all mamby-fucking-pamby! Let's _go!" _

Sakura glared after him while he trudged to Kai's room, not bothering to knock. She could hear dual shouts of indignation and then a loud reciprocal shout of anger and then Sasori emerged, slamming the door behind him. He marched over to her, thrust the damnable teddy-bear into her hands, and angrily folded his arms across his torso. "Happy?"

"As a pig in shit." Sakura strode off without a further glance at him, obviously irritated with him for taking it in the first place.

"Hey! I don't even get a thank you? I just walked in on him getting to second-base and her and I just freaking... come on! That's not even fair!" Sasori protested, jogging after her. Sakura couldn't repress the small smile that tugged at her lips. Whether she liked it or not, Sasori was at least a _little _bit entertaining to be around .

[.-_-.]

"ALL RIGHT GUYS- new plan!" ordered Shikamaru, standing in front of Kiba, Sasuke, Naruto, and Fae with his hair pulled back into its customary pineapple-esque hairdo. He was so into his thought process that he had to remove his pants. As he had often explained before, comfort was key to his thought-process. He might have been a ghost, but ghost-pants were just as restrictive as real ones.

"What's your plan, captain?" demanded Naruto, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, hands supporting his grinning face.

"We are going to get Sasori laid. Poor son-of-a-bitch can't get any ass around here. I can relate. So... we're gonna help him out!"

"... You're not talking about fucking Sasori, are you? … I thought you specifically said-"

Shikamaru's glare was enough to silence Fae with little more than a growl on his part. "You are more trouble than you're worth, you pervert."

"Come on, Shikamaru. You know you want some... dark meat." joked Sasuke, sucking on his pinky. Shikamaru chortled, shaking his head in amusement. Some days he just couldn't maintain his "I-Could-Give-A-Shit-Less" attitude.

"You know, I haven't gotten laid in ages, either. Why aren't you guys helping _me _out?" whined Kiba, puffing out his lower lip.

"Because you're an animal... you don't need any help." purred Fae, elbowing him in the side. "I can offer _mine, _though. _If _you want it..."

Naruto whistled loudly and clapped his hands giddily. "Do it Kiba! I mean her!"

Sasuke and Shikamaru both gave Naruto incredulous looks. Neither protested on his behalf when Fae began to pummel him.

[.-_-.]

GAARA SMILED WHEN he saw Sakura practically stampede through the door, Sasori jogging along to catch up with her. "Would you just slow down for a goddamn minute? I just got mentally violated and you're going off all half-cocked-"

"Shut up, Sasori." Gaara repressed the urge to laugh when Sakura grinned triumphantly at Gaara coming to her aid. "What took you so long?"

"Sasori. He's useless at finding clothes. He has his entertaining moments, though." Sakura smiled, motioning for Gaara to sit up. She smiled as she pulled off his shirt. Gaara was still flushed and cold, but he didn't show it. He allowed Sakura to ease the shirt over his head, opting to force his arms through the sleeves himself. "You didn't tell me he hurt his arm!"

"You didn't tell me you were going to send me in _there_!" snapped Sasori, chucking a pillow at her. Gaara glared at him and he angrily looked away, having had his feelings hurt.

He didn't say anything, but she caught the slight tug of a smile on his lips when he glanced down at himself. "Gimme the other clothes," he instructed, holding out his hands.

Sakura smirked, casting a glance at Sasori, who looked away with an irritated huff.

Tsunade, from behind a curtain that divided the two halves of the room, couldn't help but smile. Had he finally manged to find someone? She needed to buy that girl a drink, soon as she was old enough. Tsunade hadn't honestly thought the girl had the backbone to be with Gaara. She learned new things from them every day.

[.-_-.]

KANKURO HAD GROWN quiet; in fact, he'd withdrawn fro her and now sat pressed against the wall, his arms wrapped around his knees. In a brooding manner, he stared at the floor, perhaps pondering his abject existence.

"Kankuro?" Kai frowned when he didn't respond. She scooted closer, resting her head on his shoulder. He flinched, but didn't move away otherwise.

"She's not what I thought she'd be..." Kankuro sniffed audibly, grimacing at the minute sound of weakness. Kai wrapped her arms around him. He thought it would feel wrong, but it didn't. "She's awful... Sasori ended up trying to strangle her and Gaara bitch-slapped her for insulting Tsunade..."

Kai moaned impatiently and grabbed Kankuro's face in her hands, shifting to relieve herself of the awkward position. "Listen to me. You need to stop being so sad all the time. I can deal with you brooding. But you sad... it scares me."

"Boo," he grunted, flicking his gaze back and forth across her face. She smirked slightly, then stole a kiss from him. He exhaled softly, flipping them over so that he could pin her to the bed. "Still scared?"

"Nope," she purred, pressing against him. "I feel right at home."

Kankuro smiled somewhat sadly before kissing her again. When he pulled away the smile was gone. "That's kind of pathetic... But I know what you mean."

"Home is where the heart is," she pointed out, biting her lip self-consciously.

"Yeah, well, when we get to consecrate our new home, lemme know," he laughed, slipping his hands underneath of her shirt. Kai grinned and returned the gesture, letting her fingers roam over the rippling muscles of his torso.

"You never know. You might actually get lucky one of these days."

Kankuro's face resurfaced so quickly that she sucked in a surprised breath. "Seriously. Holy fuck. I'm gonna start wearing break-away pants or some shit. You give me the signal and I will be ready and pantsless in less than thirty seconds." Kankuro paused for a second. "Okay, not break-away pants. But seriously."

**Author's Note: Admittedly, it's short. But I like it. I started it after I got home, stopped to finish a picture, do homework, and then I continued it and finished it. :P Hope you like it. Also, heads up. There is a Kank/Kai lemon on the horizon. Deal with it. MAKE ME A SAMMMMMIICHHH bitch boy! **

**Okay, you don't have to do that. But really. I hope you like it. **

**Review and let me know what you think. What works for you? What doesn't? What do you want more of? And what should I cut the hell out? **


	41. Bend and Snap

SAKURA SMILED AS she watched Gaara sleep. It was when he was the most peaceful looking, save for when he was having a nightmare. She smoothed a few pieces of hair away from his forehead, pressing a kiss gently to his smooth, perfect skin. He was beautiful in the weirdest way.

Sasori watched as she did all of this, a slightly wistful smile carving his traitorous mouth into a sad form. He wanted that. That emotion. That sweetness. What bothered him most was he had no idea what that emotion was. Love was but a word to him. He could care for someone and even love them on a certain level, but he couldn't be in love. He just didn't know _how_.

He'd never fall in love. He didn't have the slightest clue was being in love meant. What it felt like to smile at the sound of someone's voice, to remember the feel of their lips upon his lips, or even to simply enjoy sharing company with them. Truly, he'd been like that with Kai, but he realized now that in all accounts that was not love. It was infatuation, perhaps, but not love. Not like Gaara and Sakura had.

He wondered if it would be different to be kissed by someone who cared so much for someone else. Would it be the same? Kai herself had no idea what it meant to be in love; it was one of the reasons he had enjoyed her company so much. She expected so little of him that it was quite liberating to give freely and experience the delight of pleasing someone instead of hurting them.

"Sakura?" he asked tentatively, unsure of whether or not he truly wanted to ask his question.

Sakura replied absently with a soft, inquiring "hmm?" and continued to play with Gaara's hair. She didn't even look up. Sasori moved closer, crawling silently into the weathered, stuffed chair at Gaara's bedside.

He pulled his legs up onto the chair, pressing his heels against the backs of his thighs and bracing his arms atop his knees. "What's it like?" he asked, his voice erupting from his lips in a whispery torrent of muted curiosity. He was the perfect picture of a perfect, curious student.

Sakura turned her head to drink in his near-studious posture as he waited, raptly. "What's _what _like?"

"Love," he replied, exasperatedly, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh!" Sakura smiled, despite her inner turmoil. Did he truly not understand how it was to love someone? That was the easiest thing in the world... wasn't it? "What kind of love? Like... Hey, I just met you and this crazy, but you're cute? Or... I feel like our souls link up like the missing pieces of a puzzle?"

"A puzzle. Is that what it means to be puzzled? So baffled by the way you feel that you can't comprehend how it is that you feel that way?" Sasori's voice had taken on a feverish quality. He was so desperate to understand. He didn't feel things damned near as much as he wanted to. Lately he felt like his emotions were squashed, canned up, save for when he was depressed.

Sakura smiled sadly, realizing just how similar he and Gaara were even though they'd only just met. "You could say that. It's... intense. At least with Gaara. I've never felt that way about anybody before. It's like... you get butterflies, just thinking about them. It's as though every possible version of yourself matches perfectly with any possible version of that person who you love, and when they touch you, you can practically feel all your synapses firing, rejoicing at the prospect of them, specifically, touching you. It's... electric."

Sasori smiled slightly as he mulled things over. His eyes brightened as an idea came to him. "Show me. Can you do that?"

"I can't do that, Sasori. It just doesn't work that way. And I'm with Gaara... There's no one else for me. You have to find that person on your own." Sakura smiled sadly, unsure of how to help him. "I wish I could help you. But... if you can't find a person to be in love with, you can find people to love and cherish as family and friends."

Sasori's lips curled back into a real smile, one that she'd never been so lucky to witness before. It looked... so much _different _from the ones she was used to seeing. Was he really so complex that he had to pretend to be happy when he wasn't?

Sakura's eyes widened in anticipation as he stood up quickly. The sudden motion jarred her from her pensive state. When he quickly placed a chaste kiss to her forehead, she flinched and pulled back to gaze at him in scrutiny, trying to assess the motives behind his action. "I've already found my precious people. I just hope that they can find me precious as well."

Sasori glanced down at Gaara with a wry smile. "I guess it might be a while. But they'll come around. They always do. Only this time, I won't have to hurt anyone for getting close."

Sakura watched, perplexed, as he ambled out of the room, as though completely at ease. Just who was Sasori, when things got down to the nitty-gritty?

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

KIBA'S NERVE ENDINGS were simply sparkling with every contact of Fae's lips against his own. He'd missed the flirtatious, naughty feeling he got just from making out. While making out for some was simply a precursor to the "better bits," Kiba was very much into every aspect of a relationship. He wasn't sure what kind of relationship he and Fae had, but at this rate he'd take what he could get.

Fae slipped her hands underneath his shirt, marveling at the feel of his well-hidden abdominals. "Where the hell did these come from?"

"Been hittin' the gym with Naruto," he replied gruffly, crushing his lips back to hers, leaving little room for retort. She bit back a moan that threatened to spill out and he had to chuckle. "Antsy, are we?"

"Mmm. We're not having sex. I trust you enough to swap spit, but not to rock your world," she purred, putting her hand on his shoulders.

"Rock my world? Nobody even says that anymore," he laughed, nipping at her lips affectionately.

"Well I _just _did," she pointed out, "are you calling me a … _nobody_?"

Kiba smirked, then nuzzled his face against her neck. His words came out heated and breathy against the tender flesh of her neck. "I don't know about _that_, but I know just who you are."

"Really? Who is that?" she whispered, her dusky blue eyes sparkling mischievously.

"_Mine_," he growled playfully, rolling them over so that he could kiss her senseless. Not that either of them had too much sense, anyway, being in the place that they were. They didn't seem to mind too much at the moment about the silliness of sense, though.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

KANKURO WAS CONTENT to simply lay there with her, toying with her hair as she slept. Sleep wouldn't come for him, though it wasn't for lack of trying. As wide awake as he was, though, it was almost tragically peaceful to just lay next to someone, the warmth of their body lending to his own inner peace.

That wasn't to say that he was at peace; he was still just as tumultuously worked up on the inside as before, but her presence calmed the overwhelming sense of loneliness. She put him first. He wasn't sure if that was truly in her best interests, because he was still quite capable of literally destroying her both mentally and physically, even though he was strongly averted to the idea. It was a habit he'd picked up over the years.

He'd learned to stockpile the important details of a person—even the unimportant ones that didn't hold value, as they might be useful later—so that he could use it at a later date when he needed to make them do what he wanted or to get them _not _to do something that he didn't want them to do. He was just as manipulative as Gaara, though he prided himself on his better moral compass. As of late, his compass had been defective and he'd been stumbling along trying to figure out what he was supposed to do.

Kai shivered in her sleep. Her body began to twitch spasmodically, in a distinct rhythm that he recognized. A pained whisper escaped her lips and she burrowed closer to his side. Was he really a source of comfort? He found that hard to believe.

Even so, he rested a gentle hand on her shoulder and nudged her until she was roused from her sleep. "You okay?"

She panted, overcome with fear of the terrible dreams that she didn't remember. Night terrors was what Tsunade had called them and what she had told him they were called. As she cuddled up to him, Kankuro stared at the bunk above them, wondering what she saw in him. As far as he could tell, he couldn't find a single thing about himself that he liked other than his body. He spent a lot of time making sure that he kept his body in good working condition.

When he couldn't rely on his mind to work appropriately, he could at least expect his body to protect him. He repressed the urge to grin like a lunatic when Kai let out a soft breath, wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders, still half awake.

If he played his cards right, he wouldn't have to rely on his mind to work appropriately. He wasn't at odds with her. The analytical part of him knew that she wouldn't hurt him, because he'd already hurt her to a great degree and still she'd come back to him. That part of him told him to take advantage of that and capitalize on her weakness for him.

The other half of him was vehemently opposed to that notion. It had lain dormant within him for a while and _Lord _how he'd missed it. Whatever magnetic forces had been repelling against his internal metaphorical compass had reversed. He and Kai were almost polar opposites when it came down to their methods of basic functioning and truer senses of personality, but then again, opposites attracted. Perhaps there was still hope for him and his morality...

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

NARUTO SMILED AS he leafed through his English textbook, failing at his attempts to study for his upcoming exam on Hamlet. He couldn't help but think about his and Sasuke's sexual escapades from the previous night. They'd finally made that soul-searching trek into the territories unknown, consecrating their love for each other in the most physical way possible.

What pleased him the most was that Sasuke had actually remarked on the non-existent state of his usual post-coital urge to flee with his shoes in hand and his shirt barely-on in his rush to leave. He'd called it the "After-fuck-cluster-fuck."

Sasuke was in the library, getting a book on basic engineering. All of the things they could ever need were within their grasp. Sasuke was interested in tinkering around with things and seeing if they couldn't make any modifications to the place.

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at the remembrance of the time that Sasuke had emerged from the bathroom, enraged that the water was too cold. Kiba, next door, had taken one of his damnable marathon showers. Sasuke had had half a mind to barge in, tear the faucet out of the wall, and prevent Kiba from using all of the hot water ever again.

The only thing that had stopped him was that Naruto pointed out the smell of a funky Kiba was no pleasure—something he knew from personal experience after many bouts of boxing with him in the gym.

Naruto closed the book, unable to focus on his studies. Briefly, he thought of the movie that Temari had smuggled in for them, as was Gaara's request. It had been clever, brutal, mind-blowing, and best of all—it involved the presence of half-naked men and Brad Pitt having loud, rowdy sex with a persistent woman. That had been very much to his liking. Naruto pulled out a sheet of paper to begin drawing, absently wondering if he could somehow recreate the atmosphere of the movie. That would be incredible.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

GAARA WAS SLOWLY processing the strange scene that had occurred at his bedside no more than ten minutes ago. It had been the strangest thing. He'd wanted to rip Sasori limb from limb when he kissed Sakura, but he'd held himself back, knowing that he was in no condition to do such a thing. He also wanted to see Sakura's reaction.

With his eyes just barely open, he'd peered through his eyelashes as Sakura recoiled ever-so-slightly. Her shoulders had been tensed as she stared at him, unmoving, until he said that he'd already found precious people and that he hoped they'd find him precious as well.

The already-growing respect he held for his brother grew a smidgen bigger, though he wouldn't admit it. .He wasn't going to acknowledge the scene he'd witnessed, even if someone by chance brought it up. He was still too broken up over his mother.

A few hours passed, with him flitting in and out of a troubled slumber while Sakura dozed in the chair next to the bed, her feet propped up on the bed and tucked underneath of Gaara's numerous blankets. Every so often he'd wake up and she'd look over at him with that soft smile of hers that spurred the strangest sensation of tingling warmth, just in the center of his chest.

After what seemed like decades of attempted sleep—it wasn't working for him here, there were too many unpleasant factors, Gaara sat up on the bed with a loud, defeated exhalation.

"Do you feel any better, Gaara?" inquired Sakura, leaning forward to take his large hand into her own smaller, more delicate ones. Gaara contemplated his responses, immediately chucking the cheesy '_Now that you're here'_ out of the realm of possibility.

"Define '_better.'"_he grunted, fixing her with a searching look that she couldn't completely comprehend.

She decided to combat his pregnant statement with humor, smiling as she whispered, "Better, adjective, meaning to be less worse than before. Not great, but not as shitty. A little bit _less _like death."

Gaara smirked. He liked smirking. Besides sex, torture, and stoning—not to be confused with getting stoned—it was undoubtedly his oldest and most cherished pastime. "In that case, no. I feel worse, actually."

Sakura frowned, wishing that he felt better. Her frown spread into a sly grin as she formulated a simple but effective idea. "Hmm, maybe I can think of a way to make you better..."

Gaara hummed appreciatively as she climb on top of him, careful to avoid his ginger right hand. His eyebrows leapt up in a show of surprise when she shoved the blankets aside, slipped beneath, and promptly began to stroke him though his boxers. He'd opted to not put on the jeans, as he was still laying in bed.

"Mm, nurse, I think I have a problem," he whispered huskily, biting his lip with unbridled lust when she bit her lip and giggled gleefully.

"Oh, dear! Maybe you need treatment..." she said, slipping her hand beneath the hem of his underwear. "and some intensive _care_."

"Oi! Get your hands out of his pants and get off of him," snapped Tsunade, leaning against the doorway with a dark look on her face. "He's in no condition for _treatment_- intensive or _otherwise_._" _

Sakura reddened to such a shade that Gaara had never seen her blush before, and immediately withdrew her hand. She timidly resume her position in the chair, watching as Tsunade sauntered over to them, chortling beneath her breath.

"You're a real fucking cock-block, you know that Tsunade?" Gaara grumbled, giving her an even darker look than she'd managed to give them.

Tsunade laughed, then allowed herself a facetious sigh. "Sakura, what is wrong with you? You've corrupted him... he used to be so sweet now all he wants to talk about is sex and boobies."

Gaara guffawed, wincing when his sore throat reprimanded him with scorching waves of pain. He smiled nonetheless, finding Tsunade's good-natured gibe all the more entertaining. "As if _she _could corrupt _me."_

Tsunade repressed a grin when she realized Sakura's calculating expression; it was obvious the girl was seeking to prove him wrong. "Well, I just came to make sure you were okay... You feel any better?"

Gaara shrugged, the amusement slipping from him quickly. He felt worse, but it was somehow easier for him to laugh at hers and Sakura's jokes than to sit there and be miserable. How odd.

Tsunade smiled sadly, ruffling his hair with a gentle hand. Gaara didn't flinch for once, or even pull away. In fact, she could have sworn that he leaned into her touch. Not that anyone would ever believe that.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

THE NEXT DAY, Gaara was confined to his infirmary bed, which meant that he was unable to return to class along with the rest of his wing. As much as Sakura had protested, Tsunade had refused to let her stay with Gaara, citing her reasoning as "a chance for her to re-establish her other friendships and learn the material that the teachers taught so that when she brought Gaara's his work she could show him what to do."

Sakura glared at the pencil in her hand with heavy irritation, wishing that she was cuddling with Gaara, not attempting to outline her paper on "Lord of the Flies" for Orochimaru. That Kai and Naruto had already whizzed through the papers enraged her to a level that she felt could rival even Gaara's. It irritated her that almost everyone but those two had picked up on the murderous aura that practically oozed from every orifice.

She glanced to her left where Kankuro was quietly twirling his pencil in his hands, looking more abject than usual. Kai was leaning her head against his shoulder as she chatted with Naruto, one hand soothingly rubbing the burly young man's knee as he brooded.

Sakura was instantly reminded of Gaara and how she should be with him, but then she realized that no one had worried about Kankuro thus far. Which was natural, she supposed, because he internalized _everything._

"Hey, Kankuro, how are you doing? Gaara's worried about you..." She knew it wasn't technically a lie. "He didn't say anything, but... I can tell he's worried because he made Tsunade promise that she'd talk to you before the day was out."

Kankuro's spacey-gaze disappeared when he turned to stare at her in surprise. "Really? He did that?"

Sakura nodded, smiling gently. "Yeah."

Kankuro eyed her suspiciously for a moment before turning back to his paper, a slight smile gracing his lips. Sakura's heart swelled at having made him feel better. Perhaps that disastrous meeting would turn out well for Gaara and Kankuro after all.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

KIBA SMIRKED WHEN Hinata eyed Naruto nervously; the blonde-haired maniac was spinning in circles with little bowls of paint heaped in his hands, full of colorful, wet, paint that just begged to be spilled.

"I am Naruto, the paint faerie! Fear me, for I have the power of the rainbow on my side! Speak now, or forever hold thy piece! And I don't mean world peace, folks! Hold onto your dicks, because I've got a hell of a faerie-fucking appetite if you catch my di-I mean _drift_!"

"Shut up, Naruto!" yelled Hidan, chucking his paintbrush at Naruto. "If I wanted to hear about your rainbow-parade I'd make you a fucking sign myself and then make Haku march with you!"

"Psh. Don't lump him into a group with Haku," snapped Haku, referring to himself in the third peron because he was momentarily lost in the image of his own eyes "He's not sexy enough... his hair's too bright... too manly..."

"Yeah, well, I'm a fucking man, and I _own _it," growled Hidan, suddenly even more frustrated because he no longer had a utensil to paint with me. "Oi, blondie, bring me my paintbrush, you filthy little cocksucker."

Naruto smiled genially, plopping down the paints, which surprisingly didn't spill. The sheer dumb luck of a genius of poor-coordination. He bent slowly to pick up the paintbrush, his eyes focused on Hidan the whole while. The white-haired man drew his eyebrows together in confusion as Naruto kept eye-contact with him.

Naruto straightened up quickly, then dropped the paintbrush. "Ooops. I seemed to have dropped my pencil. Allow me to get that... I'm going to bend..." He bent at the waist, slowly and seductively. When his fingers curled around the smooth handle of the brush, he hastily popped back up, his hands framing a non-existent bust. "And _snap!_"

Hidan blanched, then began to laugh uncontrollably. Naruto beamed, chucking the brush back to the chuckling fool.

"Yu—Yukari! Did you see that? He fucking _bent _and _snapped _like he's fucking E-Elle Woods! Hahaha!" Hidan couldn't control himself any longer. It had been funny, but his reaction was becoming funnier than the joke itself. Naruto now felt sheepish. When Sasuke gave him a heated look he blushed even further, somewhat regretting his goofy behavior.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

GAARA WATCHED, MYSTIFIED as the heavily tattooed man sat down on the bed next to him, refusing to allow tears to stream down his face. The man had managed to step on a rusty nail; it pierced the bottom of his foot and ran all the way through his foot until it protruded through the otherside.

As the rusty nail was removed, Gaara couldn't help but admire the man's wild tattoos. His body was _covered _in them. Some of them were colorful and wild, while others were dark and terrifying.

When the man looked at him, Gaara noticed a few tattoos on his face. (Just so you know, this is not a real person from the show, so don't fret about wondering who it is.) The man recognized Gaara and wearily shifted, but Gaara didn't look away from him. He was fascinated.

The tattooed wonder became increasingly uncomfortable under Gaara's gaze until he requested a transfer to a different bed further down the aisle. He was happy to hobble painfully down the aisle as long as he was away from Gaara's heavy gaze.

Gaara stared after him, wishing he had the chance to study the strange markings even further.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"CHECK IT OUT!" demanded Sasuke, his voice drenched in tones of amusement and excitement that Naruto had never heard before. Immediately, he looked down from the top bunk, surprised to see Sasuke watching a small motor vehicle whizzing around and around in circles.

"What the hell is that?"

Sasuke beamed up at him victoriously. "A toy car. How cool is that?"

"Shit... it's almost Christmas. I haven't gotten anybody a single thing..." Naruto groaned in frustration, realizing his error. Sasuke scowled as well, realizing he'd forgotten about the holiday as well.

"KIBA!" Sasuke winced when Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs. Almost immediately the triangle-tattooed boy trotted into the room with a startled look of concern.

"What's shakin', bacon? You need some help with something?"

Naruto self-consciously scratched his neck before he asked Kiba if he realized how close it was to Christmas. Kiba blanched and admitted that he had no idea. Upon further investigation, they realized that exactly no one knew it was almost Christmas. How had the time flown by so quickly?

It was already December 18th. They'd already almost missed the entire season. Now they'd hardly have time to Christmas shop.

**Author's Note; I'm sorry this has such an anti-climactic ending but it actually IS a setup for things to come. Promise. 3 Let me know what you think, my lovelies! **

**The lemon will occur soon. **

**Can anybody guess where the story is headed? It's almost glaringly obvious. **


	42. Fuck is a lovely word

THREE DAYS HAD passed and now the winter solstice was upon them. The notion of buying or creating presents for each other had quickly been abandoned; it was illogical as there was simply no way to gather the materials needed.

Gaara was rather pleased that he wasn't forced to hear the bothersome sounds of raucous caroling and banal decorations. He had long tired of the prospect of an imaginary fat man in a red suit that was supposed to bring cheer and wonder to the world on Jesus' birthday. He was of the impression that it would make more sense for people to expect a visit from a vision of Jesus rather than a fat man interested in giving out toys to children who didn't deserve them.

As part of his recovery—Tsunade swore that he couldn't be too careful because he was just _so_ thin—he was recommended to stay in his room for the duration of the week. This, of course, meant that he'd have enormous amounts of work to make up in the upcoming two weeks of vacation they had for Christmas Break. Today was a Thursday, which meant that Christmas would fall on a Monday. Friday was their last day, which meant he was left to his own devices.

It aggravated Gaara that he was so bored by his lonesome now. Solitude was something he'd once favored above all else; it gave him time to sort out the thoughts that he could not share with anyone else. However, he rapidly found himself running out of thoughts that he didn't wish to share with someone. Sakura was his sole confidant, for which he was eternally grateful.

Gaara could now understand why Kankuro had told Tsunade of what had happened; it was only a few months ago that he'd done it but it felt like years. Things were so different in just a span of five months. Before August, he hadn't known these people. Nor would he have cared to.

The bright lights of the television played across the walls of the room, distracting him for a moment as a commercial came on. Shoes; that was what was being advertised. Little kids' shoes which glowed and lit up with each step.

Gaara watched, chagrined, as a mother and father skipped through obviously fake snow with their child, laughing as the lights lit a path through the white powder. Gaara bit his lip, resisting the urge to fling the remote through the screen. He was filled with loathing for the shoes and the happy family.

He changed the channel with a scowl, no longer desiring to watch the boring sitcom. It wasn't even funny, anyway. He clicked past various wintry shows and a few "Happy Holidays!" films—those were the worst because they were usually about some idiot who took his family for granted and then realized to care for them in the end, or some greedy little kids who wanted toys and ended up getting them even though they were truly awful little creatures—and eventually settled on a documentary about prison life through the ages. It looked rather promising.

As the film played out, he began to notice a strange reoccurring theme that he found interesting. Gaara smiled, jotting down in a small, unassuming notebook his plans. This could be fun.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

PERHAPS THE STRANGEST thing for Kankuro was being away from his brother. He sat in class, expecting to turn and whisper things to him as he usually had, only to find the desk empty. It was gut-wrenching at times.

He felt exposed; it was like being out in cold, windy weather and having on a coat and jacket with a large patches torn out of it, specifically over "the good bits." Kankuro was surprised to find that being without Gaara made him feel vulnerable. People weren't as weary of him as they were of the red-headed 'demon,' even though he'd help beat them to a pulp whenever someone was foolhardy enough to openly call him that.

Kankuro had taken to offering his random whispers up to Sasori in an attempt to smooth over some of the ill-tidings between them. Now that he even vaguely understood Sasori's plight of a psychotic mother, he could somewhat trust the boy. It was easier to trust someone who knew what you had been through.

Maybe it was better that Sasori hadn't demanded recognition for his troubled past; Kankuro could respect him more for that. No argument was started about who'd had it worse, neither one of them asked to confide in the other more than either was comfortable with hearing or saying. There was an unspoken agreement between the two that what would be said now and later would be said when it was fit to be said. Nothing more nothing less. There was no rush to say what they'd been keeping to themselves for years.

The soft crinkle of paper hitting a barrier pulled Kankuro from his thoughts, forcing him to focus on the task at hand. He was in the middle of a history test for Kakashi. Kakashi patted him idly on the head, moving on down the isle without further recognition. Kankuro glanced down at his paper realizing that he was only on question five. Kakashi had put a sticky note on the corner of the desk, but he'd folded it up so that no one else could be nosy enough to read it.

Kankuro pulled it off the desk with slight trepidation. He quickly unfolded it, reading the note within. '_Are you okay? You seem especially quiet today. Is Gaara doing well?' _

Kankuro smiled slightly, looking up at Kakashi. Kakashi didn't acknowledge him, knowing that it would make Kankuro feel awkward. Kankuro rubbed his nose with the back of his hand and jotted an answer down on the front of his test. He'd be okay. He was never ecstatic and perfectly happy with his life, but for every low point he had one that didn't completely suck. He couldn't admit it, not even to himself, but there was nothing better than knowing that someone cared about you—not because they had to, or they had good reason to, but because they had no good reason _not _to like you.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

TSUNADE SIGHED INTO her hands, rubbing them across her face and through her hair before she sat up again. She was getting too old for this job. She had so many things to do that she was unsure of how to accomplish.

She was already breaking regulations with her wing-placements. She was well-aware that having co-ed dorms was within regulations, but not without monitoring systems in place. She did have systems in place, but not in the wings that she was currently running. They were supervised, but not in a manner cohesive with how the state dictated she run them. She had monitors installed, yes. But she had specific people watching said monitors. If the wrong people were watching the bad things would happen.

The blonde-haired beauty wearily eyed the ever-growing pile of paperwork that loomed before her. Would this dullest part of her day ever cease to tire her? She supposed it wouldn't, but that didn't mean she had to like it any more. With a sigh she grabbed the nearest file, flipping it open so she could view its content.

The South wing, which housed Gaara and his companions, was not in need of a new member but there were three other wings which were. The other two hadn't been filled in a long time, but the Institution about a hundred miles east of them had far too many patients that it just couldn't take. Tsunade's building was no better—her hospital, at least her _building _of the hospital—had the most violent patients and it was almost filled to capacity. The other Institution had been filled to over-capacity though, which was simply something they were not allowed to do. And so the wings here were being filled again.

This also meant that she'd be spending a lot more times in sessions and a lot less time with her South wing crew. That bothered her, but she wasn't as worried because they were showing some great improvement. She was intrigued by the idea of mixing things up for the kids and forcing the to interact with each other, but she was torn by the idea. They really did need to get out more.

Tsuande was pleased with Gaara's progress as well as the progress of the other youth in his wing, but she was still worried that they were becoming to isolated. They couldn't just sit around screwing all day—another code violation- but she didn't want them completely unable to see each other. She knew it was technically unethical to let them behave in such a way but it was the most improvement she'd seen in their history. Some of them, like Gaara, had quite extensive histories at the Institution; he and his brother had been there for the better part of five years, which worried her. She knew they'd never be fit for society, but she at least hoped they could be fit for the microcosm of society created within the buildings of the institution.

If they got better, at least to a point, she could move them to the basement floor which housed more than two wings. There they would be able to socialize a lot more and have more normal lives. At least as normal as one could have in this place.

Tsunade pushed the paperwork away, feeling completely and utterly overwhelmed by the little black words that bore even darker messages. She was beginning to doubt her judgment. She'd been working with Sasori to get the wing mates to the point where she could offer them her proposition and they'd know she wasn't joking. However, as that point became more and more possible, she began to worry that she was doing the wrong thing.

Tsunade could only hope that God wouldn't damn her to hell for "playing God" with her position of power. He had a pretty good sense of judgment, though, so hopefully He'd know she was just doing her best to help people heal. Some people never healed, but these people... she could work with them.

There was a light knock on the door; it was a knock she knew well. She knew who it was even before they popped their head through the door to offer a cheeky smile. "Hey, princess!"

"Jiraiya... to what do I owe the pleasure?" She asked, smiling brilliantly. Any excuse to get away from this paperwork would be perfect.

"Y-You seem happy to see me!" Jiraiya said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. "I was wondering if you'd like to ditch your paper-date and accompany me to lunch?"

Tsuande smiled, winking with about as much charm as a drunken sea-otter. Jiraiya thought it was cute, all the same. "What are they serving today?" she asked, making her way over to him.

"Your favorite... meatloaf!"

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SHIKAMARU'S EYES FOLLOWED Sasuke's motions as he constructed the small machine. It was meant to be a toy car, which would spin mindlessly in short circles if attached to a string. He found it quite fascinating, really. School had ended hours ago; Shikamaru had been curious as to why Sasuke hadn't emerged from his room after they returned and this was apparently his answer.

"Where'd you learn how to do this?" mumbled Shikamaru, plucking a small bit of wire from the floor. It looked like guitar string, but he couldn't be sure.

"Books..." Sasuke furrowed his brow in concentration, growling when he realized that he didn't have the appropriate parts. "It would be so much fucking easier if I actually _had _what I needed..."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes as he watched Sasuke fashion a makeshift gear out of a toothpaste cap. "Hn."

"If you have nothing productive to say, please leave. You're interrupting my concentration," snapped Sasuke, chucking the thick manual at Shikamaru without lifting his gaze from his puzzle. Shikamaru didn't avoid the projectile, allowing Sasuke to score a blow to the face.

Wordlessly, he caught the book when it began to free-fall after connecting with his face. Shikamaru paused thoughtfully as he regarded the cover of the book. Simple engineering, hmm? Sasuke's was obviously more advanced than the book would permit, but Shikamaru supposed that he ought to find a way to fill his time somehow. This might be advantageous.

He plopped down on the floor in front of the couch, ignoring the sounds of Naruto's frantic shouts as he watched a violent movie with men beating each other to a pulp. How he'd managed to procure such a movie was beyond Shikamaru, but he wasn't about to ask how Naruto had gotten it.

Shikamaru read on, silently, until Naruto's fist connected with the back of his head. "Do you _mind, _Naruto?" he demanded, spinning around to glare at the blond. Naruto sheepishly smiled, apologizing for his crudeness. Shikamaru only scowled.

* * *

[.-_-.]LEMON[.-_-.]

* * *

"ARE YOU KIDDING me? Don't tease me like that... It's not even fair," whined Kankuro, pushing Kai away from him. "We both know you won't-"

"Shut the fuck up and take off your shirt. You practically _begged _me all this time and now that I'm actually-"

"Y-you're serious?!" Kankuro propped himself up on his hands, staring at her so intensely that she blushed crimson. "Oh sweet fucking mother of Jesus, the Lord is good... Are you sure though? I don't wanna like... blow this. I mean it's supposed to be special when you do it if you actually like each other isn't it?"

"Yeah, but... stop it! Now make me feel wanted before I change my mind!" demanded Kai, unsure of herself now. She felt dirty. Kai shyly smiled when he licked his lips in anticipation, pulling her closer. He'd _almost _talked her out of it. How stupid of him.

Kankuro savaged her with a kiss worthy of a standing ovation, tugging her shirt with a little more gusto than he intended. The hem tore free and he sheepishly stared at it for a moment. "Uhm... Sorry. I'm a little excited..."

"Oh, really? You don't say..." Kai couldn't repress her amused smile, pleased that he was actually interested enough in her to lose his almost legendary self-control. Then again, his self-control was based in every realm but that of sex... She knew first hand how impulsive he could be.

Kankuro's cheeks burned pink for a moment until he crushed his lips back to hers, unzipping her jacket and angrily flinging it across the room. "Why are you wearing so much _clothing_," he hissed, pulling back to yank her shirt over her head.

"Just to piss you off," she jibed, tugging on the hem of his shirt. Kankuro snorted as he ripped off his shirt, flinging it at Kai with a childish laugh.

He yanked off his pants, leaving him clad only in his boxers and a marvelously well-sculpted birthday suit.

"Kankuro if this relationship is going to work, I'm going to have to strictly forbid you from _ever _wearing t-shirts again... How the hell have you gotten muscular after getting here!?" demanded Kai, grabbing him and pulling him back down to her.

Kankuro chuckled into her skin, tracing a lazy pattern from her ear to her belly-button. "Wouldn't you like to know..." He eased her shorts off with a quick tug, smiling when she faltered self-consciously. After a quick glance, he confirmed his suspicion: she was already wet.

Kai's reply was lost with the sharp, hissing intake of breath that result when he pressed a hot, open-mouth kissed to her neck and slipped his hands beneath her bra. Kai's fingers twined in his hair as he reached around her with one hand to undo the clasp. Part of her noted sadly just how good he was at this in comparison to her complete lack of experience. Not that she'd felt the need to tell him about that.

He paused a moment to revel in the glory of the tits he'd been waiting so long to see. She moaned softly as his mouth closed over a nipple, his teeth gently nipping at the sensitive flesh. His right hand cupped her other breast, kneading in expert motions. Kai writhed beneath him, hardly able to contain her mewls of pleasure. Is this what she'd been missing out on? With a soft sigh he pulled back, trailing lower to the hem of her underwear. Kankuro didn't venture to ask permission before he hooked his thumbs beneath the waistband and began to pull them down. Kai let out a sigh of relief when he returned to her for a passionate kiss, his hands trembling with anticipation as they roughly roamed up and down her sides, occasionally dipping back to center to shamelessly fondle her breasts.

Kankuro's free hand crept between her legs, his lips curving into a smile when he felt just how wet she was. Kai's lips faltered, and he picked up the slack by kissing her even more ferociously, as if to show her that it was okay for her body to respond that way. Kai's panted against his lips when he stroked his thumb across her clit, knowing it would drive her closer to the edge of reckless abandonment.

Her fingernails dug into his shoulders as he pressed a finger into her, marveling idly at the tightness. If he didn't know better, he'd say she was a virgin. Kai moaned gently, shifting her hips against his hand. Kankuro pressed his lips to hers heavily, so that she would lay back, which she did. It gave him better access to her body. He shifted so that his legs were between hers, using a hand to spread her legs further apart. Kai whimpered when his hand left her, but that whimper died off into a passionate sigh when his hand returned with two fingers. Of its own volition, her body responded to his touch, her hips rising to meet the eager thrusts of his fingers. Kankuro smirked as he watched a myriad of pleasured emotions flicker across her face. When she finally settled on a single emotion, she looked supremely pleased.

Kankuro was surprised when he felt her hands on his hips, tugging at his boxers. "Please," she whispered, her voice breathy with want.

"Please what?" he demanded huskily, leaning in to suck on the skin of her neck, just where the column of her throat met her shoulder. He knew that spot was one that drove her up the wall. She almost swore in her frustration. Kankuro repressed his own swear; he could only wait so much longer. He had willpower but this was just unfair. He'd been months without sex when he was used to having it daily.

"..." Kai refused to answer him, instead pulling at his boxers with the intent to touch him and force him to do what she wanted .

Kankuro grabbed her hands in frustration; he had to hear her say it. He could finger-fuck her all he wanted and not feel bad because he knew she wanted it. But to fuck her or anyone else he needed permission. Especially from her. "_Say it. _What do you want me to do?"

"Fuck me!" she whispered, her eyes widening when she realized what she'd said. Then her eyes sparkled deviously and she bit her lip, still surprised with herself. "Please?"

Kankuro kissed her roughly for a few seconds before he pulled back to adjust himself. Kai yanked off his boxers, and he hastily scrambled out of them. Seconds later, he was between her legs again, feeling right at home. Cock in hand, he rubbed the head of his penis up and down her slit, collecting her fluids to better lubricate himself. If the throbbing hadn't been any indication, he could now see just how hard he actually was. Kai trembled, biting her lower lip in anticipation. Kankuro caught her eye, silently asking if she was ready. Kai nodded, smiling nervously.

He didn't need to be told twice. Recklessly he plunged himself into her, earning a surprised gasp and resulting blush. Kankuro struggled to hold himself still for a moment. She shifted and something within him snapped and he began to do what he did best—fuck and be fucked. In a sense it was what his word revolved around.

Kai gasped in surprise, clinging to him as his hips undulation in wide, circulation motions that landed fast and hard within her. God, it felt good. This strange pleasure-pain was what she'd been missing. She cried out when he brushed against just the right spot; he noticed her sounds of approval and immediately began to assault her senses with well-placed strokes of the hips. He was hot, heavy, and he aroused feelings of pleasure that she hadn't even known existed.

Kankuro groaned in aggravation when she toppled from the peak of ecstasy with a fervent cry and soft whispers. It was too soon; he didn't want to be done. Furiously, he pounded into her, trying to postpone his own orgasm. Kai whimpered as her body succumbed to yet another. This time he was forced to join her, though not without trying to resist. With a violent swear, he stilled. Kai traced the lines of his face as he hovered above her for a moment before crashing down next to her.

"Fuck..." he whispered, realizing that he was still trembling.

"Mhm," she whispered groggily, rolling over lazily. "Merry Christmas, because I didn't get you anything."

"Fuck Christmas. I don't care." Kankuro smiled drunkenly as she yanked the blanket over the both of them. "That was incredible... You're so... it was... yes. Just _yes." _

Kai giggled, hiding her embarrassed features by pressing them into his chest.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SAKURA LOOKED AT Gaara, mildly irritated with him. Gaara was leaning against the wall, pressed into it as far as he could possibly mesh himself with a solid wall. Whenever she tried to speak and ask him what he was doing, he'd shush her and wave her off with his unbroken had.

Sakura sat up straight when suddenly his body went rigid. "What is it?"

"Aww... he finally got laid!" whispered Gaara, his face brightening considerably.

"W-What?" Sakura blanched, completely disturbed by Gaara's reaction. "You mean you were standing there listening to them have sex!?"

Gaara grinned lecherously. "Well, I had to know if he did a god job. He's got quiet a reputation. I purge my worries through violence—at least I used to—an he purged through sex. Now I have you. I needed to know if he did a good job."

"Why!?" she demanded, turning red with embarrassment. "That's weird!"

"Well, I needed to know so I could do an even better job," he whispered, already back on the bed and toying with the the neckline of her shirt. Sakura couldn't deny the heat that was creeping into her body at his touch. "After all, I didn't get you anything for Christmas..."

"You can always gift-wrap your dick and put a bow on it!" joked Sakura, unable to contain herself. Gaara repressed the urge to laugh, instead grabbing her by the arms and planting a blockbuster worthy kiss on her. Sakura melted.

**Author's Note: Well there ya have it. The moment I've been avoiding for so long. Sorry it was a long lemon. I think it was my best so far, though. I love reading 'em but I'm pretty shitty at writing them. **

**What did ya think? **

**Also... should Gaara and Sakura's Christmas sex be aired?! :D REVIEW!**


	43. Signed, Sealed, Delivered

SAKURA WHIMPERED AS Gaara's fingers trailed down her side, his thumb grazing over her nipple before passing over her ribs and the feminine swell of her hips. He frowned at his right hand, realizing that the cast on his hand would hamper his activity.

He paused his activities to viciously claw at the cast, much to Sakura's surprise. "Gaara! Stop it, you need that."

"No I _don't_," he growled, rolling over so that his weight trapped her to the bed. "I _need _to have sex with you, but this fucking confounded piece of-"

"Gaara. Calm yourself. There are more positions than one, you know..." Sakura pointed out. She was secretly wondering how someone so emaciated as he could have such a heavy mass. Part of her, in the back of her mind, was relieved that she was attracted to Gaara and not Sasori. She'd have been crushed, most likely.

Gaara's eyes narrowed and a wide smirk stretched across his mouth. "Hn. How many can you think of that don't require the use of my hands?"

"A few," she purred, pressing against his chest. He grinned lecherously as he allowed her to shove him onto his back. He had to admit, he liked the view. He wasn't in charge anymore, but he could definitely still command the show if he wanted to.

Sakura's fingers daintily scrabbled across his chest as she undid his buttons. Every so often she had to stop and bat his wandering hands away when they ventured too close to her breasts; she didn't want to get distracted.

"Gaara, I think tonight I'm getting a proper Christmas present, hmm? I even get to unwrap it..." She giggled when a rosy blush graced his cheeks. She teased him by deliberately touching anywhere and everywhere but his zippers. "You can't touch. I have to unwrap you by myself."

His eyes darkened with unhidden anger; he didn't like not being able to control the situation. His anger dissipated when she quickly undid his pants and tugged them off in an expert fashion. Sometimes she was so innocent he forgot she was a wildcat in bed...

She trailed her finger-tips lightly across his nipples and down his concave abdomen and over his jutting hip-bones to the hem of his boxer-briefs. However, she did not touch them; she enjoyed irritating him and teasing him. It was something she so rarely got to do. He gasped when she pressed a hand against his raging erection, only fleetingly.

"Sakura, would y-" Gaara's speech broke off into a masculine grunt of surprised approval when suddenly she yanked his underwear down and pressed a hand to his throbbing cock, encircling it with her dainty hand. She looked up at him with a dirty smirk as she tentatively flicked the tip of her tongue across the head of his shaft, eliciting a sharp hiss.

Sakura took him in her mouth, pulling him in until he was fully encompassed by her hot lips. She pressed her tongue against the base of his penis, flicking her tongue back and forth as she drew away, creating a pleasing suction. Gaara whined in a low, guttural moan, resisting the urge to grab her by the hair. How long had it been since they'd last had sex? He couldn't even remember. All he could think about was her mouth, the liquid heat of her lips and tongue, and the delicious feel of everything she was doing to him.

Gaara growled in frustration when she pulled away from him, leaving him wanting for more. She pressed her hands against his shoulders, leaning in close as she whispered, "You like to watch, don't you, Gaara?"

"If you don't-"

"Don't what, Gaara? What do you want me to do to you?" she whispered, her voice becoming low and sultry. "Is the legendary Gaara Sabaku begging me to suck him off?"

Gaara's glare darkened when she began to giggle mirthlessly. With a snarl of disgust he grabbed her by the hips, pushed her underwear aside, and positioned her over his waiting erection.

"Hey! I said you couldn't touch!"

"I didn't agree to that. I also didn't agree to you teasing me. You'll regret doing that."

Sakura had little time to retort before he thrust her body down onto him. He slammed his hips upwards, sheathing himself fully within her. Sakura cried out, pressing her hands against his chest in attempt to steady herself. Gaara's hands gripped her hips so tightly she knew there would be bruises in the morning.

His cast dug into her left hip so badly that she was afraid it might bleed, but that didn't stop him or the pleasure-filled sensation that was swirling within her. Sakura moaned as his thrusts grew more and more rhythmic, lulling her into a suspended state of pre-orgasmic bliss.

Gaara watched, transfixed, as his thrusts jarred her breasts into motion. Sakura whimpered when he tightened the grip of his cast-covered hand, not wanting to let her go. He noticed the discomforted tone and shifted his hand to relieve the unwarranted pain.

Sakura pressed her hands into his chest, leveraging herself as she began to lift herself up and down. She twisted her hips as she pulled upwards, then twisted them again as she slammed her hips back down upon him. Gaara gasped out loud as the sensation overrode his other senses. Sakura gleefully took over, raising her hips up and down as she rode him.

She could tell that he was getting close to cumming; his breathing was erratic and he had his eyes screwed shut in a pleasured grimace. She wanted to close her eyes, be still, as she enjoyed the road to release but she couldn't.

Gaara groaned in frustration when her movements became clumsy and frantic with the need to orgasm; he wasn't going to get anywhere this way. He grabbed her forcefully by the hips, flipped them over so that he could finish the job himself. Using his left arm to support his weight, he began to piston his hips back and forth, angling his hips to hit the sensitive spots within her that he had come to know very well. Sakura cried out, arching upwards at the contact. She panted heavily as she thrust relentlessly into her, never ceasing his animalistic motions. Gaara let out a strangled breath of relief when she finally tumbled over the cusp of reality and fell into brilliant oblivion.

He didn't bother to resist the urge to spill his seed within her; it was too much effort to withhold himself. He grunted and collapsed on top of her, his arm protesting from the strain of the undue burden it had been forced to hold.

Sakura mewled in pleasure as she traced lazy circles on the skin of his lower back, just near the base of his spine. "Do you have any more presents for me, Gaara?"

Gaara pulled back to give her a steady look. "Don't push your luck, woman."

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SHIKAMARU, KIBA AND Sasori sat on the couch in awkward silence as they stared at the television, completely unable to focus on the movie they were watching.

"So a mollusk and a sea cucumber walk into the bar—"

"Oh _yes_! Right there, Sasuke!"

The three boys tore their focused glares away from the television screen to cast weary looks at the door to Sasuke and Naruto's room.

Kiba whined loudly, unable to contain his misery. "This is the worst Christmas ever..."

"It's not even Christmas yet..." commented Sasori, his face dark red. He was mortified.

Kiba could no longer contain his tears. He wailed loudly, grabbing a coach pillow to press his face into as the flood of tears began to flow. "This blows!"

Shikamaru sighed dejectedly as he watched the little clown fish swim in circles. '_Nemo! Don't you dare –' _"I'm _never_ gonna get laid!"

Kiba let out an even louder wail, which subsided to racking sobs. "I'd even take a touch! Why won't anyone just _touch _my dick!?"

"What about Fae? She seemed game enough," muttered Shikamaru sourly. "I couldn't get pussy if I tried."

"She—wait, where is she?" Kiba sniffed loudly as he looked around.

"Oh, Sasuke!"

Kiba's eyes narrowed when he heard Fae's passionate exclamation.

"Son of a mother fucker! She's having sex, too! What the fuck... He doesn't even _like _girls!"

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"DO IT AGAIN!" demanded Naruto in a hushed voice, repressing the urge to chortle wildly. Fae grinned devilishly and manufactured another moan.

"O-oh! Right there, ohhhhh."

Sasuke had his hands clamped over his mouth in an attempt to remain quiet. All three of them were pressed up against Naruto's door, listening to the reactions of those in the living room.

"You'll touch the gay boy's dick but you won't touch mine?" they could hear Kiba howl in anger and frustration. "You fucking _suck_! Bitch, you don't get _a thing _from me for Christmas! Unless you wanna play with _my _thing! But other than that _fuck _you!"

Fae couldn't contain her guffaw of amusement at his words. They could practically _hear _him stomping back to his room before he slammed the door.

"You guys... that was priceless," hissed Sasuke, pressing his lips against Naruto's neck. "Kind of makes me actually want-"

"Woah. Hey now. Keep your trouser snake _in _your trousers, sir," commanded Fae with a laugh. "This is a pretend tryst!"

Their conversation was interrupted when something collided with the door. "_Let me in! _I'll do _almost _anything! Just touch it! Please!"

The three of them couldn't help but burst into laughter at Kiba's desperation. Poor guy...

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

THREE DAYS LATER, on Christmas Eve, Tsunade sat at her desk with her head in her hands. She was so nervous that she couldn't contain herself. Tomorrow she would be making the deal of a lifetime; she risked losing her entire career and even going to prison. Oddly enough, Jiraiya was on her side, though a part of her was sure he just wanted in her pants.

Tsunade toyed with the gifts she'd gotten for each of the members of South wing. No matter what, they'd always be her favorites...

For Gaara, she's gotten him a set of henna pigments and terpines so that he could create art with them. For Sakura, she'd gotten her a complete bath set along with some minimalistic make-up. The poor girl had seen some better days in regards to the quality of her hair. The less than stellar cuisine left something to be desired for hair-care health.

Naruto had gotten an art set as well, though it was one more akin to his style. For Sasuke she had selected an intriguing book series about a dark, fantastical world. Kiba's present was a new collar—she'd noticed that his old one had broken a few months ago—and a new set of clothing. Two new hoodies, of the most comfortable and stylish degree, awaited Kai. For Fae she'd had Jiraiya seek out a dirty romance series—Jiraiya had actually had _quite _the series hidden away in his attic.

Sasori's gift was a set of puzzles, a journal, and a black coat that would reach his knees. For Kankuro, she'd selected a set of body paints and a small-but-intricate marionette doll. For Shikamaru, she'd endeavored to get him hobbyist books on things such as sewing, crocheting, Sudoku, simple mechanics, astronomy, and even origami. She figured that he had to be bored with all the time that he now had on his hands.

These gifts were just a precursor, though. After she presented them with their presents, she had a small proposition planned for them. She could only hope that it went over as she anticipated...

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"OH COME ON," snapped Kankuro, shoving Naruto's hand away from his face. "I'm not kissing him. I don't give a shit if you put a hundred mistletoe over our heads, it's not gonna happen!"

"Come on, Kankuro! He's desperate!" pleaded Naruto. "Kiba was practically screaming at us to-"

Naruto couldn't finish his sentence because Kiba had his hand clamped firmly over his mouth. "That was directed to _Fae _not you! I don't like the 'd'! I'm only down with the 'p!'"

"Yeah, p as in _penis_," smirked Sasuke. Kankuro laughed loudly, turning away from them to adjust the ugly stockings that they had all worked together to make.

Naruto wrestled free of Kiba's grip, grabbing onto Kankuro's arm. "Hey! You seem to be in a really good mood, eh? I hear you finally got laid!"

Kai reddened, glaring at Naruto in embarrassment .

"W-Well it's true!" he chuckled sheepishly. "I'm sorry... but damn! Where'd the time go! Can you believe it? Tomorrow's Christmas! I fucking _love _Christmas!"

Kankuro shrugged gruffly and ambled away from the stockings, seeing them as properly hung over the 'fireplace'. The fireplace was actually just a large picture of a poorly drawn fireplace that Naruto had endeavored to tape onto the wall.

"Ah, yeah, the big fat man bringing us presents we don't deserve... Too bad Santa isn't real. I could totally use some coal," mused Kankuro, chuckling darkly. "Maybe then we could have an actual fire."

"Oh shut up, you pessimistic son of a bitch," chided Naruto, pelting him with peanuts. "Wonder when Tsunade will get here to help us put out the cookies..."

"She's actually gonna come for that?" demanded Gaara, sitting up on the couch. Sakura tumbled off of his chest and onto the floor. She glared at him reproachfully. "That's weird... she's never done that before."

Naruto laughed and held up the mistletoe so he had an excuse to kiss Sasuke. "Yeah, well, she loves us, so we're special."

"No, Naruto, you're special. As in you need a helmet when you're not supervised!" jibed Fae, tickling him relentlessly. Kiba reddened angrily.

The sound of their door swinging open ended their brief spat as Tsunade and Jiraiya waddled into the room. Jiraiya was decked out in a Santa outfit that was obviously too large for him.

"Sorry we're so late, guys, I had to make all my rounds and some of the patients are just so clingy..." Jiraiya shivered at the thought of the fat woman who'd sat in his lap and refused to get up until he listened to her sing "Santa Baby."

"Yes, well, if you weren't such a pervert you wouldn't have let that slag sing to you in such a way!" Tsunade said with a scowl, hefting her plate of cookies a little bit higher. Jiraiya groaned in frustration.

"Oh come on! She was heavier than three of you! What was I supposed to do?"

Gaara leaned in, wide eyed , as he stared at Jiraiya's outfit. For a moment, Jiraiya was excited and expecting Gaara to praise him for dressing up. "Hn. I thought you'd be fatter..."

Jiraiya dead panned and gave Gaara a dirty look. "Oi. I still have time to bring you coal tomorrow you little shit." '

"Hey! Watch your mouth, you grungy old toad!" snapped Tsunade, playfully shoving Jiraiya. They were cut together, actually. They'd never admit that they were together, but it was charming. Jiraiya's prematurely white hair denied his age; he was only in his early forties. Tsunade was probably around the same age, though her looks didn't show it.

The cookies and tray were sat down on the floor. Jiraiya pulled out a rather large book which he intended to read to them. Gaara smiled when Tsunade offered him a cookie and took a timid bite before wolfing down the rest of the cookie in one bite.

Gaara and Sakura cuddled on the couch with Naruto and Sasuke huddling on the other end of the couch. Kankuro was on the floor with his back propped against the couch and Kai cradled in his lap. Fae was nestled up against Sasuke, for the soul purpose of pissing off Kiba, who sat on the floor next to Sasori and Shikamaru.

Jiraiya sat down on the floor before them, seeingly uncaring of the position that would be uncomfortable for most. Cross-legged, he sat as he waited for them to focus on him. He produced a large, well-made book from his Santa sack. Tsunade smiled at him reassuringly when he gave her a nervous look.

"Jiraiya here wrote up a story just especially for all of you! Pay close attention; it's unlike any Christmas story you've ever heard before!" Tsunade spoke with an alluring tone of voice that she knew would rope them in. They fell for it hook line and sinker.

"Ah... here we go," murmured Jiraiya, opening the book to the first page and hoisting it up for them to see. "There once was an elf who's work was top-shelf, though he could neither reach nor see it. This elf was glad, and rarely mad, to do his work without profit."

The page showed a small elf, who looked quite young, with red hair and a green hat. Next to him was one that looked exactly the same and the other was taller with darker hair. "His brothers were two and loved him more than he knew, not that he'd ever admit. A twin and one older, though age is in the eye of the beholder, as most of them were old spirits."

The next page showed the three brothers in somber positions as they made their toys. "These little boys always made their toys, even if at times they were scared of the fat man. Jolly and merry and oh so very hairy, yet the tightest sleigh he ran."

This page showed the trio, trapped by the lasso of a rope. They were being hauled away by dark, scary looking elves. "For no fault of their own, the darks of the world were they shown. In self defense they were forced to fight, though this was a match that shed some light."

The trio was in a cell, being poked and prodded by two characters that looked suspiciously like Jiraiya and Tsunade. "A woman of life and a man of strife had come together to mend their fragile souls. These were the jolly fat man's instruments of good, and they deserved to work as all elves should."

The next page showed them sitting at a table with other elves, all of them wearing dull gray uniforms. One was blonde, others had brown hair, and two had black hair. One even had bright pink hair, how odd. "With the others they were placed, those of broken mind and all one of a kind. Together they learned and together they grew until the two doctors knew..."

The elves were covered in red, smiles on their faces and paintings before their bodies. "They had learned to destroy but what they destructed was nary a toy, but a man instead. In fact his image was quite, quite red."

Santa was shown sleeping, surrounded by the elves. "Santa was relieved by their progress, knowing that he could leave them without feelings of duress. The doctors were proud of their delightful crowd."

Tsunade smiled slightly as she watched them all follow along with Jiraiya. The story was quite obviously written about them; she'd asked him to write it as a means to introduce the ideas tonight, allow them to stew on it for the next few hours before Christmas, and then she could act upon it the next day after she gave them their presents.

She was staking her entire career on them and could only hope that it wouldn't blow up in her face.

After a while, they began to drift off to sleep. She supposed it had been years since they'd actually been read to in that way, which was normal considering how old they were. What wasn't normal was the probability of a lack of such a simple gesture as a child.

Before leaving for the night, Tsunade and Jiraiya wandered around and collected blankets to cover them with. They also dragged in a fake Christmas tree so that they could put the presents underneath the tree. Or rather, Jiraiya dragged in the Christmas tree while Tsunade encouraged him and told him what a good job he was doing.

To her credit, she decorated it by herself. That was a task deemed too quiet for him and his loud mannerisms. After they finished with their holiday festivities, they meandered back to Jiraiya's office and collapsed onto his couch. Jiraiya must have been truly feeling the spirit of Christmas because he didn't try to feel her up—not once.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

GAARA REPRESSED THE urge to stretch out his arms and stretch like a dinosaur. He liked it when Sakura did that; it was cute and the sound of her adorable little yawn made him want to crush her to death in a bear hug. However, this morning she was still asleep and their close proximity didn't permit him such a ranged motion.

Instead, he looked around him, appreciating the effort that Tsunade and Jiraiya—but mostly Jiraiya—had put into decorating their quarters. He'd naturally been unable to sleep with Jiraiya still in the room. He had an undeniable and unfaltering trust for the man, but that was just it—he was a _man. _He wasn't sure if his trust stemmed from the childhood traumas subjected to him by his pseudo=father, or if it was just the supremacy of breasts that put him at ease. He hoped for the latter, but knew it was probably the former.

Gaara now looked around for his companions, wondering whether or not they'd slept well. Jiraiya's story had irked him. The characters were unabashedly similar to he and his wing-mates, but he couldn't understand for what reason. In the end they'd helped Santa kill off the bad elves, but he wasn't sure what that meant. They hadn't been returned to the North Pole to work there, but instead they stayed where they were.

He evicted the troubling thoughts when he noticed Sasori, Shikamaru, and Kiba laying next to each other like soldiers. It was a little bit humorous, but not enough to smile. His gaze flicked over to where Naruto, Sasuke, and Fae lay sprawled out. Sasuke and Naruto were naturally embracing one another, but Fae, curiously enough, had an arm and leg flung over their torsos. Gaara wasn't sure what to make of that. He did smile slightly when he saw Kankuro and Kai curled up at the foot of the couch. Gaara was pleased that Kankuro finally had someone to make him happy, because even Gaara had to recognize that Kankuro did more for him than anyone else had his entire life. He just didn't know how to thank him.

There was a gentle knock on the door before Tsunade and Jiraiya trekked in, both wearing wrinkly-but-fresh clothing. Tsunade looked absolutely radiant while Jiraiya was incredibly less so. Unbeknownst to the South wing, Tsunade was a couch-hog and blanket stealer. They hadn't been able to spoon—as he would have preferred—which ended up with them both sleeping with one head per end of the couch and resulted in her taking up the majority of it.

Tsunade was smart in waking Naruto first—the ruckus he caused was enough to wake everyone simultaneously. Gaara winced when Sakura jerked awake, elbowing him in the ribs. She gave him an apologetic look and kissed him lightly on the lips; he couldn't complain after that.

Tsunade passed out gift, sitting down and waiting with baited breath to open them. Kankuro surprised her by jumped up and running to his room.

"Kankuro, what are you doing?" she inquired, standing up nervously.

"I gotta go give Temari her present! What time is it? Did she leave yet?" he demanded, his face and hands appearing on the door-frame as he got ready to fulfill his duty as a brother. Gaara looked into his lap guiltily, remembering that he hadn't gotten her anything. He surmised that just his physical contact and seeking out advice had been proof to her of his caring for her, so perhaps that wasn't a big deal to her.

Tsunade checked her watch. "Well it's only six-fifty-two, so I think she's still here, but—wait! Aren't going to open your present?"

"She leaves at seven! I'll be right back, I gotta go give her this and then I'll open my present! Promise!" he assured, rushing off at breakneck pace. Tsunade wilted and sat down again.

"So... do we wait for him to get back or do we just open them now?" inquired Naruto, staring longingly at his present.

"Wait," said Sasori , resolutely. Naruto reddened slightly, but nodded in compliance. Tsunade and Jiraiya exchanged weary looks and then sighed. This wasn't going as planned.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"OI! TEMARI! WAIT, wait! Hang on," panted Kankuro, slowing down just in the nick of time before knocking the both of them on their asses. Temari looked up from the floor in surprise; she'd already ben packed up and heading out to her car.

She did as he requested, slowing to a halt as she took in his sweaty, disgruntled appearance. "What's up?"

"I had to run all the way from freaking South wing to get this to you..." he panted, only managing a few words between every breath. "I forgot how far of a distance that is, fuck..."

"Y-you got me a present!?"she shrieked, throwing her arms around him before he could admit that he had. She took the box in her hands, shyly, and gave him a tender smile before promptly sitting down on the floor to open it.

She pulled the lid of the large box off very carefully. What she found inside took her breath away. "Kankuro..."

"I remembered when we were little you always had one... I had Naruto make the clothes, so technically it's from him, too, but... I thought you needed a new one." Kankuro wished he could repress that damnable blush that had crept across his cheeks and neck, making his skin hot. He shifted uncomfortably when she didn't' say anything. Did she not like it. "I'm sorry if-"

"No, I love it! I just... how the _hell _did you make this?" she demanded, her eyes clearly showing disbelief.

"Well, I kind of _technically _have a carving knife that I'm not supposed to have but... I took apart a few things around the place so I could get the screws for the arms and legs and I mean... well the rest was easy. I knew you hadn't had a doll since... since we got here. I know you're technically too old for 'em, but... I didn't think it was fair you had to lose your childhood just cause we did, ya know?"

Kankuro pressed his lips together when he realized he was rambling. He pressed a hand against his neck to see if it was still hot to the touch. It was burning. Oh geez. Temari catapulted herself off the floor and hugged him so fiercely he almost fell over.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you, Kankuro. You guys didn't steal my childhood... you guys make me happy. Don't ever forget that."

Kankuro awkwardly wrapped his arms around her and pressed his face into her neck. "I love you, too, Temari. No matter how big of an asshole I may be."

"You're an asshole. But just a little one," she chuckled, giving him an extra squeeze before she pulled away. "Now go enjoy your Christmas!" she commanded, kissing him on the cheek as was customary for her to do. Kankuro smiled sheepishly and nodded, walking slowly back down the hallway.

That had been surprisingly fulfilling.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

TSUNADE SIGHED IMPATIENTLY as everyone waited for Kankuro to return. It was projected that his brief visit with Temari would take up about a half an hour of the morning's time, due to the ridiculous amount of space between this wing and the reception desk. It was both a security and safety measure to keep them so far away from the front doors that remained unlocked during the day. There were always guards posted there, but with patients such as the ones in this building, one could never be too careful.

Jiraiya gave her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder and sat down in front of the television to find a suitable came to play. He was disappointed to see that the only game that wasn't completely mind-numbing was Just Dance. "Hey, princess, after you give them their presents maybe we should invest in some decent games, eh? These are boring enough to drive _me _insane..."

" Protocol-"

"Protocol can kiss my old, white ass," growled Jiraiya,, picking up the DVD box for Nemo. "This is what they watch? Kankuro's seventeen! He's old enough to watch rated-R movies... they can at least swing PG-13... I know they're not allowed _too_ much violence but you can see me drama in kid's cartoons than this stuff..."

Tsunade frowned angrily. He was making _her _look like the enemy, when it wasn't really her decision what they did and didn't get to watch. They broke enough rules for them as it was; she couldn't afford to break them all. "Jiraiya, I can't just allow them to watch whatever they want. They could react negatively... at least that's what the Board says, but I can't go against the Board... I break enough rules already!"

Gaara sat up at the mention of rule breaking. That kind of excited him; it made him proud that she could break the rules as well. "You break rules?"

Tsunade blanched, realizing she'd said too much before she'd lulled them into a good mood with their presents. "Yeah... I'll explain later." Her look pleaded for understanding, which he obliged. He didn't say anything else, but she could see that he was intrigued.

Luckily for her, Kankuro burst through the door slightly read-faced. He'd gotten bored of walking and taken off running again, longing to see what he'd gotten for Christmas. He'd never actually gotten such a personal gift from the staff before; usually they were just picked at random out of a crate.

Tsunade beamed and handed him back his present. "All right everyone! Dig in! Tell me what you think..."

Gaara was overjoyed with his henna paints and terpines—she could see the mysterious glint in his eye and had to say that it frightened her a bit. Sakura almost vanished off to the bathroom to try her new bath set, but Tsunade was relieved when Gaara halted her, advising her to stick around.

Naruto admired his art set while Sasuke, Fae, and Shikamaru admired their new books. They were some of the few who could truly appreciate those kinds of gifts—especially Fae with her smutty romance novels.

Sasori and Kai both slipped into their attire, while Kankuro was half-tempted to strip himself down and paint weird patterns into his skin. For the sake of modesty, he instead opted to play with his new marionette, smiling idly as it listened to his commands. Kiba also donned his new collar and shamelessly stripped to change into his new clothing. No one missed the exasperated scowls from Naruto and Sasuke. Shikamaru couldn't be bothered to look up from his various hobbyist books.

Naruto had gotten an art set as well, though it was one more akin to his style. For Sasuke she had selected an intriguing book series about a dark, fantastical world. Kiba's present was a new collar—she'd noticed that his old one had broken a few months ago—and a new set of clothing. Two new hoodies, of the most comfortable yet stylish degree, awaited Kai. For Fae she'd had Jiraiya seek out a dirty romance series—Jiraiya had actually had _quite _the series hidden away in his attic.

Sasori's gift was a set of puzzles, a journal, and a black coat that would reach his knees. For Kankuro, she'd selected a set of body paints and a small-but-intricate marionette doll. For Shikamaru, she'd endeavored to get him hobbyist books on things such as sewing, crocheting, Sudoku, simple mechanics, astronomy, and even origami. She figured that he had to be bored with all the time that he now had on his hands.

"How do you guys like the new gifts?" asked Jiraiya, smiling widely. Everyone nodded and a few even murmured 'thank-you's.'

"Good... because I have an even more... pleasing offer for you," began Tsunade, her voice trembling nervously. Shikamaru and Sasori had already heard the whole speech, the complete way through at least five times so that she could get it down properly.

"What?" Gaara's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Jiraiya and I _know _what you've all—minus Sasori and Fae—have been doing. We aren't here to chastise you and tell you that it's morally wrong and we're separating you all for your... liberation front. We're here, rather, to tell you that we _do_ approve. Because what you are doing is morally,well... it's something that we can support."

Gaara repressed the urge to laugh at her incredulously. This was ludicrous. "You're a terrible doctor if you actually support this... I am not looking to change your opinion for that would be unwise, but..."

"Wait a second! You mean you actually _knew _what we did to... to the people like Kisame?" demanded Naruto, rising to his feet. His new artist's set tumbled to the floor, forgotten.

"Yes, we did. I was the one who found Kisame. Startled me, to be honest. Why do you think you haven't been caught by now? I admit, you've gotten better at covering your tracks but it's still a bit obvious..." Tsunade smirked as she watched the wheels turn in their mind. Sasori and Shikamaru knew her plan, but they were remaining silent to allow the others a chance to let the information sink in.

"So... if you know all of that, then why are you here? I take it you're here for more than just warning us to cover our tracks?" surmised Kankuro, his eyes dark with mistrust.

"What? Then... why are you guys even here?" Kai pondered aloud. Kankuro nodded in agreement.

"Indeed," murmured Sasuke, his eyes narrowing as he stared at his books. "They're probably here to butter us up before the orderlies come in and take us all off to solitary for the rest of our short lives..."

"No, no," assured Jiraiya, his smile darkening. "You see, that's where _we _come in..."

"Get to the point! All of this word-play is making my head hurt..." growled Kiba, biting into his thumb with his canine.

Tsunade smiled gently and stood up so that she could walk over to him and rest a gentle hand on his head. "We are here to offer you all our help. We've already mentioned that we support your cause... however, we don't support your methods."

"What's wrong with our methods?" snapped Sakura, leaning forward angrily. "They get what they deserve! Kisame—that bastard hurt Naruto for _no _reason!"

"They all hurt for no reason," pointed our Jiraiya. "However, torturing them like that make it obvious that it was a purposeful killing. There are more effectively painful ways to kill than just by maiming the body... we are here to help you. Your job will be to kill who we say—if you agree with the reasoning behind it—and you'll get their file and we'll tell you how and when. This isn't going to be a method of killing to control or gain power."

"Right. We're in this for the same reasons as you—we value your reasoning. You're ridding the world of people that shouldn't ever be allowed to live. They committed crimes that are inexcusable. You all have committed... acts that prevent you from leaving this institution, but you can damned well serve society with this opportunity... You're saving lives, and for those who won't return to society, you're avenging them. So... what do you say?"

Sasori and Shikamaru both glanced to Gaara, trying to gauge his reaction. They weren't sure whether to be surprised or not when he, and everyone else, agreed to their caretakers' plans.

**Author's Note; I think this might be a little bit anti-climatic for the ending of a story... Let me know what you think. Also, the continuation of this will be called "Phasmatis Bellum." I have to credit Destiney, AKA Storm Goddess of Siberia, with coining the name. :] **

**PLEASE REVIEW. It's been an honor to write for you all. I promise a better sequel. I hope tha it will meet your standards as well as my own—this story definitely did not. I've realized many things along the way. This story had no pre-determined plot. I'll fix that mistake in the next one. I had amary-sue piss poor character for a while- I gotta admit that. It did get pretty fucking shitty for a while. Sorry, guys. I didn't mean to bash TenTen and Ino—they are some of my favorite characters but they really had a part to fill. **

**In the sequel, there will be a good bit more humor but it will probably be just as dark. No hints, though. :] I cannot wait to begin writing. I know I said I'd focus on Hatake Naruto, but I'm still researching and I still need a beta. Apparently I suck at editing my own stories... LOL. **

**Well, much love! It's been super great. I love you all and I'll write more for you soon! :D **

**P.S. If anyone is interesting in beta-ing for me for either the sequel or for my other story, I'd LOVE it. Please let me know if you're interested! **

**Mellokai/Lauren. **


End file.
